The Econmist - USA (2021-11-06)

42 Middle East & Africa The Economist November 6th 2021

ProtectingtheCongobasin

Money for old trees

G

abon,asmall, family­runpetrostate

inwestAfrica,mayseema ratherodd

campaigneragainstglobalwarming.Once

Africa’sfifth­largestoilexporter,it profited

fromtheworldpumpingmorecarbondi­

oxideintotheatmosphere.Now,however,

ithopestobenefitbyhelpingtheworldto

avoid overheating—and by encouraging

richcountriestopayAfricanonestokeep

theirforestsstanding.Itsadvocacygota

boostonNovember2ndwhentheleaders

ofmorethan 100 countriespledgedatthe

cop 26 summit to end deforestation by

2030.Tohelpthathappen,richcountries

promisedtostumpupbillionsofdollars.

Atleast85%ofGabon,whichliesonthe

equatorattheedgeoftheGulfofGuinea,is

coveredinsteamingjungle.Itisoneofsix

countriesthatformthemassiveforestof

theCongobasin—theworld’ssecond­big­

gesttropicalrainforest,aftertheAmazon—

which sucks in carbondioxide through

photosynthesisandturnsit intoleavesand

branches.(Cameroon,theCentralAfrican

Republic,thetwoCongosandEquatorial

Guineaaretheotherfive.)Gabonisnotthe

largestofthisgroupofcarbonsinks,butits

president,AliBongo,isthemosteagerto

offertoprotecthiscountry’sforestsinex­

changeforcashfromrichcountries.

Gabon’sargumentissimple.Largerain­

forestssuchasthoseintheCongobasin

providea servicetotheworldbysucking

millionsoftonnesofcarbonfromtheair.

Sinceperformingthisserviceprovidesno

income,therehasbeenlittleincentivefor

poor countries to protect their forests

whentheycouldinsteadprofitbychop­

ping them down for timber or clearing

themforfarming.

Thepotential benefitsarelarge. “The

stockofcarbonintheCongobasinaddsup

tosixyearsoftotalglobalemissions,”says

LeeWhite,Gabon’senvironmentminister,

adding that Gabon alone absorbs the

equivalentofone­thirdofFrance’scarbon

emissions each year. Although Gabon

emitsonlyaround25mtonnesofcarbona

year,itsequestersabout140mtonnes,he

reckons.YetthesixcountriesintheCongo

basinusedtosuckfarmorecarbonfrom

theairthantheydonow.TheDemocratic

RepublicofCongo,whichhasthelargest

expanse of jungle of the six, is losing

500,000hectaresofit a yearthroughdefor­

estation. Itwillneed someincentiveto

stopthechop.AndcountriessuchasGa­

bon,whichhavebeenprotectingtheirfor­

ests,shouldberewardedforhaving  done

so,arguesMrWhite.

Theconsequencesofnotdoingso  go

beyondemissions.MrWhitesaysthe for­

estscauseraintofallacrosstheEthiopian

highlands,theNilevalleyandthesouthern

rimoftheSahel.Iftheseplacesdry  up,

wavesofhungrypeoplemayspreadacross

Africa,makingthecontinentmoreprone

toturmoil.ManywillalsoheadtoEurope.

Thedealstruckatcopincludeda pledge

by 12 countriestoprovide$12bninpublic

fundingtoprotectandrestoreforests. The

countries,whichincludeAmerica,Germa­

ny,JapanandBritain,hopethatwill  also

open thetaps to private funding.Quite

howthismoneywillbespentisnot  yet

clear.Butseveralideasaregainingground.

Eats,shootsandLEAFs

Oneistopaycountriesthatcanshow they

havereducedemissionsbypreserving for­

ests.TheleafCoalition,a partnership  of

governmentsandbigfirms,hasraised $1bn

forthispurpose.Anotheristhatcountries

orcompaniesmaysell“greenbonds” to fi­

nance climate­relatedprojects.Investors

keentolookgreenmaypaya premium for

these,allowingissuerstoborrowat  con­

cessionary rates. “Ifyou stop deforesta­

tion,youshouldbecompensatedfor  for­

goingotherformsofeconomicdevelop­

ment,”saysAndrewMitchell,a climate sci­

entist who foundedthe Natural Capital

Finance Alliance. “Forests should be worth

more alive than dead.” 

It  is  not  just  governments  that  could

raise  money  using  green  bonds,  but  also

private firms such as the African Conserva­

tion Development Group, a Mauritius­reg­

istered  company  led  by  a  South  African,

Alan  Bernstein,  that  wants  to  mix  virtue

with profit, and help finance its efforts by

selling  $300m  worth  of  green  bonds  to

companies wishing to offset their own car­

bon  emissions.  It  has  bought  a  huge  con­

cession  at  Grande  Mayumba,  on  Gabon’s

south­west coast, investing $200m in sug­

ar,  rubber,  fishing,  forestry,  cattle­ranch­

ing, and—for the very rich—eco­tourism. 

Mr  Mitchell  is  confident  that  African

green  bonds  will  eventually  take  off.  But

for  the  moment  markets  are  still  wary  of

buying any sort of African bond, let alone

newfangled green ones. One worry is poli­

tics,  as  Gabon’s  example  illustrates.  If  in­

vestors are to pay more for green bonds fi­

nancing forests, they would have to be cer­

tain  that  the  carbon  absorbed  within  the

trees  would  be  contained  there  for  many

years. Many may wonder what might hap­

pen  if,  for  example,  Mr  Bongo’s  regime  in

Gabon were to fall? 

The question is far from academic. The

Bongo  family  has  run  Gabon  as  a  patron­

age­ridden  fief  for  54  years;  no  one  pre­

tends it is a democracy. At its most recent

election,  in  2016,  it  was  obvious  that  the

main  challenger,  Jean  Ping,  had  actually

won.  Moreover,  Mr  Bongo  suffered  a  seri­

ous stroke three years ago and may not be

well enough to run again. Should he die, it

is  unclear  if  his  Eton­educated,  half­

French  son  Noureddin,  not  yet  30,  would

seek to replace him, presumably using the

regime’s usual tricks.

Without  the  backing  of  Mr  Bongo,  it

may not be certain that Mr White would be

able to continue to protect the forest. As it

is, his position is somewhat improbable. A

56­year­old white Briton, he is an expert on

biodiversity, gorillas and forest elephants.

For nearly ten years he ran Gabon’s nation­

al parks, until two years ago, when an ille­

gal­logging  scandal  was  exposed  over  the

illicit  export  of  kevazingo,  a  reddish  hard­

wood. In the fallout the president fired his

vice­president and environment minister,

and replaced the latter with Mr White.  

He has won widespread admiration for

promoting  tree­hugging  and  animal­cod­

dling in Gabon, thereby bolstering Mr Bon­

go’s  claim  to  be  Africa’s  green  champion.

But his policy is far from popular with the

many  villagers  whose  crops  are  routinely

trampled  by  unruly  elephants.  A  standard

cry  among  Gabonese  tired  of  the  ruling

family  runs,  “Ali  Bongo  prefers  elephants

and  trees  to  people.”  It  is  a  sentiment  the

leaders at the copwill needtoget to grips

with,  if  their  plans  to  protectAfrica’s  for­

ests are to come to fruition.n

R APONDA WALKER ARBORETUM, LIBREVILLE

Rainforests in the Congo basin provide a service the world should pay for

Root and branch reform