Gabon paid millions to conserve its forests

Gabon has become the first country in Africa to receive payments for reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation. 

The country will receive its first sum from the Central African Forest Initiative, which has promised a total of $150m (£108m) over 10 years. 

Gabon has one of the largest forests in the world and recent studies show that it is more resilient to climate change than even the mighty Amazon forest. 

That’s because less trees are dying off.

But the country has a done a lot of work to get to where it is. In 2007, 13 national parks were created – they cover 21% of the Central African nation’s landmass.

The government also recently joined forces with the global Environment Investigation Agency to help trace illegal logging and poor harvesting of timber – the primary source of the country’s forest emissions.

Authorities say the first payment – of $17m – will go towards preserving Gabon’s forests and towards solutions that help further decrease carbon dioxide emissions.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: AFP