(Reuters) – France and Spain have shown interest in contributing to an international fund aimed at fighting deforestation of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva said on Wednesday.
The prospect of more European donors to the Brazilian-administered Amazon Fund, set up by Norway and supported by Germany, comes after the United States signaled its intent to join the fund, a move first reported by Reuters last week.
Silva told a news conference that U.S. climate envoy John Kerry is set to travel to Brazil on Feb. 27 to discuss the protection of the Amazon and donations to the fund.
“We will, now with the arrival of John Kerry, carry out the entire process of conversations to reach terms in relation to various agendas, including the issue of the allocation of resources to the Amazon Fund,” she said.
Last week, the U.S. government announced in a joint statement with Brazil its intention to fund programs to protect and conserve the Brazilian Amazon, including initial support for the Amazon Fund.
The initial donation is expected to be around $50 million, a diplomatic source told Reuters last week.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; editing by Brad Haynes, Jonathan Oatis and Nick Zieminski)
