The rainforest as a green lung

Mr ould Chih, Brazil is currently facing criticism for slowing progress in climate change mitigation rather than pioneering it. This was not the case just recently?

In fact, Brazil has managed to significantly slow the pace of deforestation since 2004. Deforestation steadily declined until 2014, but since then there has been a renewed increase, which threatens to accelerate under the current government. The idea of financially rewarding regions that can demonstrate measurable success in the fight against deforestation was discussed at the UN Framework Conference on Climate Change in Montreal as early as 2005. This gave rise to the REDD approach, which is also supported by KfW in Brazil. Brazil has also undertaken to reallocate these funds to forest conservation and in 2008 established the Amazon Fund, in which KfW also participates on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Even though the overall conditions have become more difficult, these initiatives are still underway. The Amazon is still under threat, particularly from the spread of livestock farming, while in the Cerrado savannah, for example, deforestation can be primarily attributed to the spread of modern farming practices, mainly for soy.

And what does KfW have to do with the famous photographer Sebastião Salgado?

Mr Salgado and his wife set up Instituto Terra, an environmental protection organisation that has succeeded in planting new trees in the Rio Doce valley within a period of twenty years. This is an unprecedented accomplishment in Brazil. Other regions of the country can also benefit from this experience. This is why we are talking about ways to reforest part of the Atlantic rainforest along the coast, which is also threatened. After all, we are both pursuing the same goal: protecting the environment and adapting to climate change.