Panama requires international funds to improve environmental policy
Panama, a country with extensive forest coverage, needs to obtain international funds to improve its environmental policy and reforest areas lost in recent years, the FAO said.
To this end, the Ministry of the Environment ( MiAmbiente ) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have started a project to access financing from the Green Climate Fund (FVC), which reduces deforestation and forest degradation in the country.
The project aims to prepare strategic frameworks and develop capacities in climate finance to guide the investment of the GCF in the sector "Land use, land use change and forestry" (LULUCF) as an essential enabling element to achieve the goals proposed in Panama's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), FAO said.
The United Nations entity stated that it reiterated its commitment to support Panama "in two main areas: the first, the creation of favorable conditions for Panama to be eligible to access climate finance for REDD+; and second, to facilitate access to different financing windows in environmental matters and their structure for execution".
"We believe that the country can achieve these goals if it receives international support and the means for their implementation. In order to carry out both actions, it will also be important to open up to the participation of all relevant actors in the sector, to establish synergies that complement the efforts aimed at achieve a greener, fairer and low-carbon economy in Panama, "said FAO coordinator for Mesoamerica, Adoniram Sanches Peraci.
FOUR PILLARS TO BE FULFILLED
Panama, being "a high-income country, according to the World Bank classification, receives few subsidies from international projects and more direct financing at market rates," Sanches Peraci explained to Efe.
To access them, it must comply with four pillars: the "National REDD + strategy, a National system of safeguards, a National Forest Monitoring system, and Reference levels of Forest Emissions", explained the coordinator.
Added to this is the culmination of "the REDD + readiness phase to access different climate financing windows."
Obtaining these funds becomes of special relevance since they are "specific for the development of the environmental area, still not very visible for private sector investments", and because "international projects incorporate a lot of environmental technology from other countries, since they are analyzed networked with other global experiences ".
In addition, "they are in networks at an international level and follow the same global monitoring standard, facilitating and making international data on carbon emissions viable", to which it is added that "the projects bring a component to strengthen institutional capacities, which end supporting the public structure in its effort to modernize and train personnel ".
REFORESTATION PLANS
Panama aims to restore 50,000 hectares nationwide through a state program that will contribute to the absorption of approximately 2.6 million tons of CO2 by 2050, an increase equivalent to 10% with respect to the average absorption for the period 1994-2017. .
The nation has about 4,925,789.72 hectares, which would represent 65.4% of its territory, being one of the countries with the highest percentage of forest cover in the world, according to the 2018-2050 National Forest Strategy.
However, in the last seven years, 56,369.49 hectares of forest and other wooded land have been lost, representing 8,052.78 hectares per year.
The project aims to prepare strategic frameworks and develop capacities in climate finance to guide the investment of the GCF in the sector "Land use, land use change and forestry" (LULUCF) as an essential enabling element to achieve the goals proposed in Panama's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), FAO said.
The United Nations entity stated that it reiterated its commitment to support Panama "in two main areas: the first, the creation of favorable conditions for Panama to be eligible to access climate finance for REDD+; and second, to facilitate access to different financing windows in environmental matters and their structure for execution".
"We believe that the country can achieve these goals if it receives international support and the means for their implementation. In order to carry out both actions, it will also be important to open up to the participation of all relevant actors in the sector, to establish synergies that complement the efforts aimed at achieve a greener, fairer and low-carbon economy in Panama, "said FAO coordinator for Mesoamerica, Adoniram Sanches Peraci.
FOUR PILLARS TO BE FULFILLED
Panama, being "a high-income country, according to the World Bank classification, receives few subsidies from international projects and more direct financing at market rates," Sanches Peraci explained to Efe.
To access them, it must comply with four pillars: the "National REDD + strategy, a National system of safeguards, a National Forest Monitoring system, and Reference levels of Forest Emissions", explained the coordinator.
Added to this is the culmination of "the REDD + readiness phase to access different climate financing windows."
Obtaining these funds becomes of special relevance since they are "specific for the development of the environmental area, still not very visible for private sector investments", and because "international projects incorporate a lot of environmental technology from other countries, since they are analyzed networked with other global experiences ".
In addition, "they are in networks at an international level and follow the same global monitoring standard, facilitating and making international data on carbon emissions viable", to which it is added that "the projects bring a component to strengthen institutional capacities, which end supporting the public structure in its effort to modernize and train personnel ".
REFORESTATION PLANS
Panama aims to restore 50,000 hectares nationwide through a state program that will contribute to the absorption of approximately 2.6 million tons of CO2 by 2050, an increase equivalent to 10% with respect to the average absorption for the period 1994-2017. .
The nation has about 4,925,789.72 hectares, which would represent 65.4% of its territory, being one of the countries with the highest percentage of forest cover in the world, according to the 2018-2050 National Forest Strategy.
However, in the last seven years, 56,369.49 hectares of forest and other wooded land have been lost, representing 8,052.78 hectares per year.