Norway to fund Tanzanian trees

Over the next five years, the government of Norway has pledged a total of USD 100 million to Tanzania for projects which aim to reduce deforestation and combat climate change. According to reports on Reuters, the two countries signed an agreement on Monday regarding the funding.

The project will see Norway assist with research and education on the issue of deforestation in Tanzania as well as begin pilot areas to put deforestation protection methods into practice. Norway will also participate in developing methods to measure a forest’s impact on carbon absorption.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg hopes that the projects will help Tanzania stand before other developing nations as an example of using a nation’s forests to combat global warming.

“How to do it, and how to combine the idea of rural development with creating new sinks for carbon dioxide by planting new trees is exactly what we are going to do in Tanzania,” he said.

Tanzania is one of the foremost destroyers of forests in the world, following Sudan and Zambia, according to the office of the Norwegian Prime Minister.

Norway, the fifth largest oil exporter in the world, is attempting to become “carbon neutral” by the year 2030.