Germany will in future provide Cameroon with more support with protecting the rainforest in the Congo Basin, an ecosystem that is particularly important for the global climate and rich in biodiversity. The area also plays a key role as a source of income for the local population. Germany’s Development Ministry (BMZ) has pledged around 20 million euros to fund protective measures.
BMZ State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth said that in this region Cameroon’s forest was “the last remaining area of rainforest that still absorbs CO₂ on a net basis and also features unique biodiversity”. At the same time, millions of people live in and earn their livelihoods from the forest.
He stressed: “Protecting the forest has three-fold benefits, in other words: it protects the climate, it preserves biodiversity and it secures incomes for the local population.”
Cameroon’s south forms the western fringes of the huge Congo Basin Rainforest. Around a quarter of the tropical rainforests that remain worldwide are to be found in the Congo Basin. However, the forest is shrinking, mainly due to uncontrolled deforestation for energy production and the creation of new fields and plantations.
Source: deutschland
