Reforesting degraded land in Latin America to combat climate change

The Land Degradation Neutrality Fund, which counts the European Investment Bank as one of its investors, just finalised its first transaction since its take off at the end of 2018. Its initial investment will go to a programme to restore degraded land in Latin America through agroforestry practices and is expected to improve the livelihoods of 2 400 producers.

The programme, named Urapi Sustainable Land Use and developed by ECOTIERRA, seeks to reverse land degradation and combat climate change by implementing sustainable agricultural practices and strengthening the economic models of cooperatives while promoting social inclusion. The first project of the programme involves four coffee cooperatives and the reforestation of degraded land into productive agroforestry systems in Peru.

EIB Vice-President responsible for the Bank’s operations in Latin America, Emma Navarro, said: “The cost and number of climate-related disasters are rising and accelerating land degradation, putting pressure on affected communities. With more than 1.3 billion people living on degraded land, the potential for forced mass migration and internal displacement is high and require large amounts of financial resources. That’s why the EIB is supporting the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund to invest in projects that will speed up active involvement and concrete actions to reach land degradation neutrality. I am pleased to see that the first investment of the fund will go to this reforestation project in Peru which will contribute to mitigate the effects of climate change and generate direct positive impacts for the people living there.”

Launched as a transformative contribution to the global fight against climate change, the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund seeks to support the sustainable management of 500 000 hectares of land, to reduce CO² emissions by 35 million tons, and to create jobs or improve livelihoods for over 100,000 people through its investments, with a focus on Africa and Asia. It aims to reach USD 300 million investment in land management and land restoration projects worldwide to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals’ land degradation neutrality by 2030.

Original source: EIB
Published on 22 January 2019