Forests Now Declaration

The Forests Now Declaration is a declaration that advocates using carbon credits to protect tropical forests. The Declaration was created by the Global Canopy Programme, and has been signed by over 200 NGOs, business leaders, scientists and conservationists. The Declaration was created as carbon credits from land use, land-use change and forestry were omitted from the Clean Development Mechanism for the First Commitment Period of the despite contributing 18-25% of all emissions.

Deforestation in the next five years will release more carbon dioxide than all aircraft since the Wright Brothers until at least 2025; however, credits from reduced deforestation were omitted from the Clean Development Mechanism for the first commitment period of the , so there is little incentive for forested countries to reduce their deforestation rates. The Forests NOW declaration seeks to establish new market based mechanisms to protect the ecosystem services that forests provide in biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration and global and local hydrological and mineral cycles.

The Declaration prescribes six changes to the existing carbon market frameworks:

Hans Blix signs the Forests NOW declaration in the Arctic, 12 September 2007

Wangari Maathai and H. E. Pembe Didace Bokiaga, Environment Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo sign the declaration

Jane Goodall signs the declaration in New York, 26 September 2007

Sir Michael Somare, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea signs the declaration