Forests Disappearing At Rate Of 36 Football Fields Per Minute

redwood forest

The world’s forests are disappearing at a rate of 36 football fields per minute, according to a report from the WWF on Thursday.

WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) and the Finance Alliance for Sustainable Trade (FAST) requested help from global financial institutions in halting climate change during the XIIIth World Forestry Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

“For WWF, the flipside of encouraging investment in good forestry is discouraging banks from financing unsustainable operation,” said Rodney Taylor, WWF International’s Forest Director.

The environmental group said it would launch Investment Screening Guidelines for Financial Investors in coming months to encourage support for responsible forest finance.

It cited information from its 2009 Forest Carbon Investor Survey to show that investors are wary to put money into forestry “because they believe it involves too much risk and volatility.”

“Financial institutions must recognize the business opportunities in the responsible forestry sector,” said Noemi Perez, FAST’s Executive Director.

“FAST is working together with the GFTN to link like-minded financial institutions with responsible producers, creating investments that are not only sound for business, but also contribute to the conservation of the world’s forests.”

WWF also called for “net deforestation of zero” by 2020.

At the current rate, deforestation accounts for about 20 percent of global emissions of greenhouse gases, according to WWF.

The impacts of deforestation are already being witnessed in Argentina, where just 30 percent of original forests still stand, according to a report from five environmental groups.

The World Forestry Congress brings together 3,500 representatives from 160 countries in order to submit key findings for the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen in December.