Prince Albert II Foundation Acts to Save the World’s Forests on World Biodiversity Day

Did you know that the Prince Albert Foundation has supported 46 projects since its creation protecting forests and fighting against deforestation. It has also initiated and participated in several programs as part of “Monaco is committed against deforestation”. 

But “no man is an island” and there is strength in numbers. So the Prince Albert II Foundation made a decision to join forces with like-minded partners such as the Global Forest Coalition which is an international coalition of NGOs and organizations of indigenous peoples. Add to that the International Federation of Rangers and you have an indomitable force for good. One more heavyweight joined in: the Commission on Environmental Law of the IUCN ( International Union for the Conservation of Nature). 

Together they are launching the Forests and Communities Initiative (FCI) to salute World Biodiversity Day.

Faced with the pressure that the world’s concentration of forests are facing in Amazonia, Central Africa and South-East Asia, the Prince Albert II Foundation wished to strengthen its action by launching this “impactful” initiative in a collective approach. 

What are the activities of the FCI. 

The activities of the FCI will therefore revolve around two main axes: the financial support of projects through an annual call for applications (the first will be launched immediately on the FPA website) and secondly the FCI is developing a network of actors as well organizing events and conferences. 

Scope of intervention: Includes sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, South and Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. Among the priorities are the respect for the rights and knowledge of indigenous peoples and local communities.

The Scale of the Challenge

If we don’t stop deforestation, more than half of our plant and animal species will be extinct. It is the oldest ecosystem on Earth and they are impossible to replace. In 100 Years, there could be no Rainforests without the intervention of organisations such as the Prince Albert II Foundation. 

In total, the world’s forests are home to around 3 trillion trees. From 2001 to 2019, a total of 386 million hectares of forest were lost globally. This loss represents an almost 10 % decrease in tree cover since 2000. One type of tropical forest is the rainforest. Rainforests cover only a small part of the Earth but are home to at least half of all species in the planet. In 2019, 11.9 million hectares of tropical forest was lost. Primary rainforest made up nearly a third of that loss. 

Already in 2000, half of the world’s rainforest had been wiped out. If the rate of deforestation continues, we will have no rainforests left at the end of the century, according to NASA. 

Before we started to build cities many centuries ago, estimates are that 60% of the Earth was covered in Forests. Now, there is less than 10% left.

Monaco is committed against deforestation. Salute World Biodiversity Day with the Principality and the Prince Albert II Foundation and its leadership within the Forests and Communities Initiative.