A new $100 million fund aims to combat wildfires in South America, but experts warn of a multibillion-dollar shortfall in global forest conservation financing.
Key facts
- •The new South American firefighting fund is led by Renaissance Philanthropy and Conservation X Labs.
- •The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation contributed $30 million to the new initiative.
- •A U.N. report states that $66.8 billion in additional funding is needed by 2030 to protect tropical forests.
- •Wildfires now burn more than twice as much tree cover annually compared to two decades ago.
- •Indonesia's 2024 fire season has caused estimated economic and health losses between 40 and 123 trillion rupiah.
A new initiative to raise $100 million for firefighting in South America was announced this week during New York Climate Week and the U.N. General Assembly. The fund, led by Renaissance Philanthropy and Conservation X Labs, seeks to improve wildfire detection and response in the Amazon region. However, the project has drawn criticism for excluding Southeast Asia and Africa, regions that also face severe wildfire threats and chronic underfunding.
By the numbers
Funding Disparities and Global Needs
A U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network report released Thursday highlights a significant global funding gap for tropical forest preservation. The report estimates that an additional $66.8 billion is required by 2030 to conserve and restore these ecosystems, while 2023 funding reached only $14.6 billion. The Congo Basin, which serves as the world's largest net carbon sink, receives only 11% of international funding, with foreign aid projected to decline by another 15% this year. Experts attribute this shortfall to political systems operating on short-term election cycles, which discourage long-term investments in mitigation. Other initiatives, such as the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, have also struggled to meet fundraising targets, including a goal of $10 billion by the end of the year.
Wildfire Impacts in South America and Southeast Asia
South America experienced one of its most severe fire seasons in 2024, with records broken across the Amazon, the Pantanal, and the Chiquitano dry forest. As the new fund launches, fires continue to spread during the peak dry season, recently causing air quality in Manaus, Brazil, to reach unhealthy levels. The fund is anchored by a $30 million contribution from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and $5 million from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Meanwhile, Southeast Asia faces its own crisis, with massive fires in Indonesia causing toxic haze and significant economic losses. Bhima Yudhistira of the Center of Economic and Law Studies stated that excluding Southeast Asia from international support is a mistake, noting that fires in Indonesia from January to August are estimated to cost the country between 40 and 123 trillion rupiah in economic and health damages.
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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by ABC News Business.
