Poorer nations seek cash credits for saving trees
Dec. 5, 2005. 01:00 AM
PETER GORRIE
STAFF REPORTER
MONTREAL—In a move that signals a major shift in their thinking, developing countries at the conference on climate change are pushing a plan that would earn them credits for stopping deforestation — a source of nearly one-quarter of all man-made greenhouse gases.

The proposal is supported by Canada and most of the other 188 countries at the conference and is expected to be adopted this week, unless the United States objects.

The United Nations conference likely will agree only to begin talks about such a plan to curb widespread destruction of the tropical rainforests viewed by scientists as the Earth's lungs. Observers say even that would be a crucial step.

The forests are disappearing at a rate of nearly 14 million hectares a year.

"Tropical deforestation is ... one of the most critical environmental problems facing the world today, with serious long-term economic and social consequences," the Canadian International Development Agency says.

Often, trees are chopped down to open land for farming — frequently to graze cattle that produce meat for developed countries. But thin soils quickly become infertile once the tree cover is removed, so farmers must continually destroy more forest.

In poor countries, large numbers of trees are cut for fuel, and the market for wood products is expanding rapidly.

Plant life needs carbon dioxide to survive so the forests store vast amounts of the gas, preventing it from contributing to climate change. When they're cut and burned — the usual practice — not only is the carbon dioxide released, but also the trees aren't available to store more.

As well, deforestation is blamed for deadly flooding in Asia and Central America, and erosion. It also eliminates a potential source of medicines to treat human diseases.

Under the plan, introduced by Papua New Guinea and Costa Rica, countries would measure their forest and set a goal for how much would be retained. If they kept more, they would get credits that could be sold on the international emissions trading market being created through the Kyoto Protocol.

Credits could be worth hundreds of millions, or even billions of dollars, depending on how high the price of a tonne of carbon rises in the market, officials say.

"There is more pressure to cut forests in developing countries," said Paulo Manso, a Costa Rican delegate to the conference. The plan would at least start discussions on how they can address the problem, he said.

Developing countries have for years been pushing for credits for what is known as "avoided deforestation." These previous attempts foundered on the problem that, while one piece of forest might be saved, another might be cut down nearby.

The new plan would solve that issue by covering entire countries. Developing countries had resisted national schemes — fearing they would impose mandatory targets, which they insist only industrialized nations should face. The new plan would be purely voluntary.

Credits would have to raise enough money to make it financially worthwhile to preserve forests.
That's not likely to be a problem where they are being razed for farm crops or fuel, said a Canadian official, who cannot be named under restrictions imposed by the Elections Act. In East Africa, for example, peasants would be better off if they received only 2 cents a year for each tree they do not cut. Also, managed forest plots could be grown to provide fuel.

The United States — as with most issues at the conference — has indicated it might block the plan by restricting any future talks to narrow technical issues.

But a broad discussion can go ahead as long as the Americans don't say no, the Canadian official said. "Silence is consent."