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The CAF Development Bank for Latin America and the Caribbean announced an investment of $2,000 million by 2030 to protect a “sustainable, inclusive, equitable and climate-resilient climate” in Dubai this Wednesday during the celebrations of the Climate Change Summit (COP28).
According to a CAF statement, the funds will be used to strengthen the management of protected areas and their connectivity to protect biodiversity, promote the bioeconomy and sustainable, inclusive, resilient and regenerative tourism, and build resilient, low-carbon and inclusive cities in the Amazon promote , improve the living conditions of the inhabitants of the Amazon and actively work with the Green Coalition of Development Banks for the Amazon to achieve continuous and sustainable financing in the region.
“The Amazon is a global public good and it is our responsibility to take action to protect and improve it on social, environmental and economic levels,” said Alicia Montalvo, climate action and positive biodiversity manager at CAF. “We are doing our part to consolidate the Amazon as a strategic ecosystem that offers global solutions to climate change, both at the level of conservation, adaptation and resilience.” To do this we need agreements and consensus with the governments of the countries, local communities, international organizations, financial institutions and social actors.”
With its 7.7 million kilometers of forest and riparian ecosystems, the Amazon is the largest tropical forest in the world. It stores 20% of all carbon contained in terrestrial vegetation worldwide and is home to 25% of terrestrial species. However, there are several threats that threaten it, such as deforestation and forest fires. A report published last week by the NGO Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública also warned that the increasing presence of criminal groups in the area since 2016 and its impact pose a threat to the fight against climate change.