NORWAY’S Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide yesterday reiterated his country’s commitment to an Amazon protection fund during a visit to Brazil.

Barth Eide said Norway, which contributes more than 90% of the Amazon Fund, would also help Brazil find new donors.

The fund is worth more than three billion reis (RM2.35 billion), the Brazilian government said.

It was suspended during the Brazilian presidency of Jair Bolsonaro due to his environmental policies.

Bolsonaro had issued a decree authorising mining exploitation in Indigenous areas and protected zones, which his successor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva revoked after beginning his term in January.

Brazil and Norway agreed to reactivate the fund right after Lula defeated Bolsonaro in the October election, before he even returned for a third term as Brazilian president.

He has made environmental protection a priority.

“We have this 15 years of history of working together on the Amazon Fund,” said Barth Eide at a press conference in Brasilia, after meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Marina Silva.

In January, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced he was prepared to transfer €200 million (RM965.8 million) to the fund.

Germany is the second biggest contributor to the fund after Norway.

The United States, France and Spain have expressed interest in contributing, according to Silva.

“We are continuing our own support and we are also trying to mobilise other donors to come in, because we think this has been a very successful model for Brazil, for us and other countries that would like to learn from this experience,” said Barth Eide.

Under Bolsonaro’s leadership, Amazon deforestation rose by 75%. – AFP, March 23, 2023.