Australia released an initial US$2 million Tuesday out of a US$13.7 million fund for Asia-Pacific nations to help protect forests and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the government announced Tuesday. The first two beneficiaries will be Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
Tony Burke, Australia’s minister for agriculture, fisheries and forestry, made the announcement following a meeting Tuesday with Papua New Guinea’s minister for forests, Belden Namah, in the country’s capital city of Port Moresby.
Burke was scheduled to travel to Indonesia to meet that country’s forestry minister, M.S. Kaban, in Jakarta on Thursday.
These two countries will each receive US$350,000 for skills training and capacity building in forest certification and US$260,000 for professional education in sustainable forest management, in addition to support for other specific projects.
“Today’s announcement supports Australia’s commitment at the United Nations ...