“We can doubt that this is a very firm agreement”, estimated on franceinfo François-Michel Le Tourneau, geographer, research director at the CNRS and specialist in the Amazon, about the commitment made Tuesday, November 2 by a hundred countries to preserve forests to save the climate. This initiative, announced in full COP26, will benefit from public and private funding of 16.5 billion euros over several years.
franceinfo: The hundred or so countries that have made this commitment represent more than 85% of the planet’s forests. Can we speak of a daring commitment?
François-Michel Le Tourneau: It seems bold in view of the number of signatories, and it is also a sign of goodwill. At the same time, many countries had already committed in 2014 to halving deforestation by 2020. Brazil [qui compte parmi les signataires] pledged to eradicate illegal deforestation on its soil in 2015 and that still hasn’t happened. We can therefore be a little skeptical, doubt that this is a very firm agreement. The promises only engage those who listen to them, as we know.
Deforestation also makes it possible to clear agricultural land, for the cultivation of soybeans for example. Does stopping deforestation mean completely reviewing this economy?
Absolutely. It is also a change of lifestyle, including in the West. Part of deforestation is the consequence of the ever greater consumption of meat products, especially beef. Whether it is because it is raised in the Amazon, for example, or whether it is because what is cultivated soybeans which then feed, for example, the cattle of the European Union. From this point of view, what is needed is to change the way of life, and not just to commit to reducing deforestation without changing the economic mechanisms that lead to it.
These 100 countries also pledge to devote 1.3 billion euros to protect the Congo Basin. What are the issues on site?
There is an effort to be made in all areas of tropical forest, including the Congo Basin which is under pressure from deforestation for the wood industry but also for the increase of food crops for local populations. Indonesia, meanwhile, is under tremendous pressure for palm oil. All forest basins are under attack [par la déforestation], not just the Amazon.
Today, the forest area in France is increasing. Has the country already reached the target?
In a way, yes. Indeed, the forest is increasing in France but we must see for example that what the country has gained in about 40 years of reforestation is three years of deforestation in the Amazon. We are not on the same scale. The other point is that France imports products that are designed thanks to deforestation in tropical countries. In a way, the deforestation that we no longer have at home, we import from these countries, which also implies changes in lifestyle. It is also a way of giving ourselves a clear conscience and of always seeing what others should do, without asking the question of what we need to change ourselves. In addition, European forests are much less rich and diverse than the tropical forests that are destroyed, so there is really no substitution of one by the other. What is needed is to find the means to have less pressure on ecosystems. You really have to drive these changes head-on, and I’m not sure the current deal is big enough to drive these systemic changes.