More wealthy nations are to join a fund to fight deforestation, a key factor in global warming, increasing the total pledged to four billion dollars (3.25 billion euros), Norway said Wednesday.
During the Copenhagen climate conference last December, six countries -- the United States, Norway, Japan, Britain, France and Australia -- pledged 3.5 billion dollars to battle deforestation between 2010 and 2012.
Other nations including Germany are now to join, bringing the amount to at least four billion dollars, the Norwegian government said a day before an international deforestation conference starts in Oslo.
"It's a lot of money, but more is needed in the long term because profits linked to deforestation are enormous in some countries and a lot of money is needed to compensate" the population when they agree to give it up, Norwegian Environment Minister Erik Solheim told AFP.
In Oslo Thursday, around 50 countries hope to make an agreement aimed at financing and facilitating the reduction of emissions from deforestation in developing countries.
They also aim to create a database monitoring measures to tackle deforestation and a joint secretariat.
"It is through the fight against deforestation that we can obtain the biggest, the fastest and the cheapest emission reductions," Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg told a press conference.
"But it still is a difficult task so long as we don't have the suitable institutions in place," he added.
Norway, which each year sets aside 500 million dollars for the cause, including its part of the Copenhagen pledge, was on Wednesday expected to sign a bilateral agreement with Indonesia, where there is major deforestation.
Norway has already signed similar bilateral accords with Brazil and Guyana.
The Oslo meeting follows an initial conference held in Paris in March.
Copyright 2010 AFP Global Edition
