Netherlands pledges $500M to protect tropical forests

The Dutch government said on Monday it would contribute ‌up to $500 million over the next decade ‌to an international fund to help protect tropical forests, Report informs via Reuters.

The ​money will help set up the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, a new public-private wealth fund which aims to reward countries for preserving ‌tropical forests.

The ⁠fund aims to grow to $125 billion, with around $100 billion in investments ⁠from the private sector. The fund's net proceeds will be used to structurally reward countries ​that actively ​work to preserve ​forests. The indicative reward ‌is expected to be around $4 per year per hectare, with checks on preservation made through satellite images. The fund expects to be able to help save up to 900 ‌million hectares of tropical ​forests, the Dutch government said.

The Netherlands ​said it had joined a coalition ‌of countries including Brazil, Indonesia, ​Britain, Norway, ​France and Germany that has already pledged contributions. The fund will be developed ​by the ‌World Bank and is expected to be ​operational by mid-2027.