The Millennial Files

Rainforest Nations Take Action in Montreal

When it comes to access and exploitation of natural resources, 3^rd World nations, especially those in South America and Africa, have been at the mercy of the U.S., Canada and other industrialized nations. In order to support their struggling economies, many have relied on exporting raw materials, which until recently were abundantly available in a seeming endless supply. However, with the advent of the environmental movement and the realization these resources are in limited supply, such countries have been at odds with this practice. To make matters worse, these are the same nations most affected by extreme shifts in weather. Granted a record hurricane season recently devastated the Gulf Coast states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida, but they had the resources of the U.S. government to fall back on. Flood-ravaged countries in Central America, Africa, Indonesia and the Philippines have nowhere near these same immediate resources and are at the mercy of international aid.

Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Michael Somare initated a novel proposal, which was presented by the Coalition for Rainforest Nations at the UN Climate Change Conference in Montreal last week. The proposal advocates a system in which developing countries will be rewarded for preserving their remaining rainforests, as  a tactic to forestall more severe global warming. This is a switch from previous strategies which included holding industrialized nations accountable for the effects of global warming on their local environments (see Global warming is killing us too and Bangladesh’s Minister Holds Industrialized Nations Accountable ).

Instead of rewarding emission credits for individual projects, the Papuan proposal advocates rewarding an entire country’s performance in reducing the loss of its native forests. While I am not a fan of emission credits, which I think could lead to no reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (rich countries could just buy their way out it), I do see this as way to at least slow the loss of greenhouse-gas-absorbing forests. In terms of quality of life, it could foster communities developing their local economies without erradicating their natural resources, as well as provide them with income to purchase alternative technologies, such as solar and wind. Who knows? It could even give them substantial leverge in the political arena. After all, it wasn’t until OPEC took control of oil in the Middle East during the 1970’s that its countries became viable international actors. Just look at Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.