As a further step in the direction of carbon trading financial benefits to developing countries with large tracts of rainforests, could the idea of "water trading" benefits be developed? I live in Australia where our water storage is at a critical low, and face big increases in the costs of our water, to say nothing of running out of water in the future if weather patterns continue.
What research is there to compliment this idea on global rain fall patterns and the corellation to global rainforest mass?

yours
Mary

Dear Sir,

Very many thanks for your collection of articles in "avoided deforestation" as one practical solution to mitigate climate change. The ultimate approach should be market driven to pay for the "loss of income" in countries that still has huge swath of forests in the tropical region.

I will be very grateful for a continuing dialogue in this subject matter.

With best wishes. Cyril Pinso.

I agree entirely. Have a look at the Global Canopy Project website.

Best wishes, Ben

I have advocated such a plan for years. However, allowing the World Bank or even the U.N. for that matter leaves me uneasy. Payments to Government officials in developing countries often never reach the people that are most affected by good intentioned initiatives. Even carbon credits given, can be sold to benefit the officials rather than the people. The only way to make this idea successful is to remove the political players by establishing a non-profit to distribute funds directly to the people through a trusted representative of their choice. Funds could also be used to provide tangible needs such as constructing solar arrays to produce electricity, waterless toilets for sanitation, wells and/or piplines for clean drinking water and instructions on how to farm land without destroying its fertility and helping displaced loggers develop new forms of income producing businesses.

Trees were replanted all over Africa, and behold: species that vanished return; weather stabilized; erosion minimized; air quality improved; human population health improved...the balance of nature was closer to being restored. Trees are SUPPOSED to be part of the environment, and humans need to see the big picture, not the "it's cheap and it fixes my problem for today" picture.

thanks again for your very useful work.

"The DRC joins Ecuador and Papua New Guinea (PNG) in making substantive offers to the international community to protect (note, not conserve or sustainabiy manage, but preserve intact) large areas of primary rainforests in exchange for payments which may include carbon market credits, development grants and/or debt relief."

an additional debt/$ for forest preservation agreement was signed between germany and indonesia May 2nd.
robert jereski
p.s. what's up w/greenpeace and other "eco groups"!?

What good news. It's about time the West recognized the folly of its stance during the Biodiversity Convention, when tropical countries asked for help to preserve their forests and the developed nations selfishly answered, "none of our business". As well as with the Kyoto Protocol, when they favored expensive technologies that would keep the money at home rather than finance cheap forest preservation abroad. How much has been lost, and predictably so, because of this selfishness. Apparently our "leaders" have come to the conclusion that we've shot ourselves in the foot often enough for us to wake up at last.
Nevertheless, good news, and thank you Ecological Internet for your role in furthering awareness.

Dear Dr. Barry,

On the issue of "avoided deforestation", which has now gained momentum with other nations joining in the bandwagon first proposed by PNG, how can your set up help snowball this logical approach to reduce CO2 emissions, from now on to December 2007 and make this case be of great significance, when the UNFCCC, Conference of Parties (COPs) are meeting again in Bali, RI? Could you and others mobilize enough publicity as well as supporting empirical data to make a case in Bali?

I am extremely very happy that Samling's case is put on hold. I propose that a Trust body should buy the forest concesssin in Guyana and use this particular forest as a carbon sink.

Please share with me your opinion.

Best regards.
Cyril Pinso.

what this group is doing is enlightening people in the west to what is actually happening in places like congo. this is an invaluable service. uk PM brown namechecked congo and a paltry £50m he sent congo's way in the last budget (march 2007). his only mention of climate change thus far has been to mention this an pay lip service to initiatives that will make new houses in the uk carbon neutral. all well and good but when it comes to airport expansion or saving ancient woodlands (www.protectourwoodlands.co.uk)
he's quiet - complicit in eco-cide.
these people are the people keeping Siforco, Sodefor, Safbois in business by turning a blind eye to impending catastrophe and keeping the capitalist status quo. in other words a bit of greenwash and then business as usual. thanks for you work and keep fighting.

We desperately need to get Peru and other south American countries on the same page with this. The forest there are in great threat of being lost forever as hydrocarbon companies, loggers, and miners plow their way into their deepest corners. Peru expresses their only reason for allowing this is to better their national economy. It seems at least they may be interested in such a program if it could suit their economical interests. With areas where the largest number of butterfly species living on the planet exist, we can't afford to lose these areas. Companies like American Hunt Oil don't seem to want to abide by proper standards, so time to go above their heads. Keep up the great work.

I have become extremely concerned about the very serious and "fatal" problems that are facing the world by the destruction of it's forests and the animals that live there, I too had thought that one way of halting this killing would be to purchase large tracts of untouched forest, and would like to know if plans are afoot to encourage multi national governmental co-operation and how individuals worldwide can get involved, by either/or writing to Governments of the countries involved, (contacts please) and where ordinary people such as I can help in a small financial way, if millions of people around the globe were to pay even as low as 1 dollar or 1 pound etc, just think how much that could come too?