Copyright 2001, Associated Press
October 24, 2001
By Michael Astor, Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Swapping foreign debt for ecological protections could ease developing countries' financial burdens and save the rainforests at the same time, Brazil's environment minister said Monday.

"The International Monetary Fund and World Bank have started to worry about poverty but until now, they haven't linked debt to the environment," Jose Sarney Filho said. "I must emphasize the need to reformulate debt-conversion mechanisms to reach forms of environmental activity including the protection of biodiversity, reforestation, and ecotourism."

Sarney made his remarks at the opening of the 13th Forum of Latin American and Caribbean Environmental Ministers, where ministers from 16 nations are working on a plan of action to take with them to the U.N.-sponsored 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development. The summit, to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, is intended to take stock of the world's progress since the 1992 Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro.

Sarney said that since 1992, carbon gas emissions in the United States have risen by 22 percent, and promises from industrialized countries to devote 0.7 percent of their gross national products to sustainable development have largely been forgotten.

"The indifference of the great majority of industrialized countries regarding the promises made for the sustainability of the planet has left the world community incredulous and apprehensive, and we warn of imminent, lamentable failure of the global partnership conceived at Rio 92," Sarney said.

He suggested that Latin America and the Caribbean, which are home to about two-thirds of the world's remaining tropical forests and about one-third of all renewable water sources, should be able to leverage these assets in exchange for economic benefits.

Sarney estimates that Brazil will need some US$50 billion over the next 10 years to protect the environment and foster sustainable development.

One plan being developed was to create carbon sinks: Industrialized nations could pay countries like Brazil to reforest areas big enough to absorb carbon emissions that exceeded limits set under the Kyoto accords on global warming. The plan suffered a major setback earlier this year when U.S. President George W. Bush said his country would not sign the accords because they would harm the American economy.

But Klaus Toepfer, a former German environment minister who now directs the U.N. Environment Program, said he felt the United States might be persuaded to rethink its position. "The U.S. is a member of the U.N. convention on climate, so they are a partner in the battle to fight climate change. I sincerely hope going forward we will have the U.S. as a collaborator," Toepfer said. "We know that the U.S. is responsible for a huge part of the emissions." Error: Unable to read footer file.