Gabon to be first African nation paid to fight deforestation

LIBREVILLE: Gabon will become the first African country paid with international funds to preserve its forests in an effort to fight climate change, the UN said Sunday.

Norway will provide Gabon, which is almost 90 percent covered by forest, with $150 million (136 million euros) to battle deforestation, according to the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), which the UN launched to bring together the region´s nations with Western donors. The “historic” 10-year deal will be awarded to Gabon for “both reducing its greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and degradation, and absorptions of carbon dioxide by natural forests,” CAFI said in a statement. The announcement comes ahead of a major UN climate summit on Monday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called to ask countries to raise their greenhouse gas reduction targets.