One of the organizations making a significant difference in protecting the Amazon is the Agence Française de Développement (AFD). This agency is a public financial institution that operates based on policy given by the French government. Its main objective is to fight poverty and promote sustainable development. Here are five ways France is helping to protect the Amazon.

5 Ways France is Helping to Protect the Amazon

1. Contribution through Grants: Since 2019, AFD gave €15.5 million in grants to Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. These grants aim to help the local population and governments increase environmental protective measures. To make these grants possible, AFD combined efforts with other public development banks, including the Inter-American Development Bank. The Inter-American Development Bank aims to promote biodiversity in the Amazon, which is one of the AFD’s objectives as well.
2. TerrAmaz Program: Another way that France and the AFD are protecting the Amazon is by giving money to the TerrAmaz program. This program is located at five different sites in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. TerrAmaz is working on new models of large-scale ecosystem conservation with a focus on low-carbon economic development. Additionally, TerrAmaz monitors deforestation at each local site and promotes sustainable agricultural practices to lower deforestation effects. The grant given to TerrAmaz from AFD is worth €9.5 million.
3. Supporting Indigenous Tribes: The third way AFD is helping to protect the Amazon region is by supporting the local tribes that inhabit the land. AFD gave €1 million to help the Kayapo and Kapoto tribes in Brazil. Indigenous communities in the Amazon face tremendous pressure from those looking to seize and deforest their land. In response, AFD supports tribes to prevent that from happening. This project is led by Conservation International with the help of other local organizations that support the Indigenous community. These organizations will help rehabilitate the land after fires, create a monitoring system for fires and introduce new sustainable agricultural activities to the tribes.
4. Sustainable Cocoa Production: AFD, along with the French Facility for Global Environment, is giving a total of €7.5 million to support sustainable cocoa production. The project focuses specifically on the production of cocoa in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Conservation International has partnered with Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières and Kaoka, an organic fair trade chocolate company. The aim of the project is to increase cocoa sales while also preserving the biodiversity in the area. One method is to combine the farming of cocoa with tree planting.
5. Political Pressure: The final way that France is helping to protect the Amazon is not on the ground but in the political sphere. President Emmanuel Macron of France has openly criticized the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, over his lack of effort and action toward protecting the Amazon rainforest after the devastating forest fires. President Macron committed $100 million on the part of France to a $500 million package to save the Amazon, funded by donors Colombia and Chile as well as Germany, Britain and the European Union. Macron would like to work with Brazil, but is determined to help save the Amazon regardless of an agreement between the two nations.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has temporarily paused some of the work that the AFD funds, it is nonetheless a major step for a big European power to support the Amazon. France and the AFD have set an example for the rest of the world through their work to protect the Amazon. Hopefully, other countries will also make saving the Amazon rainforest a priority of their efforts.

– Claire Brady
Photo: Flickr