Last Wednesday, world leaders met to discuss the formation of a fund to protect the world’s rainforests. The meeting included US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, French President Nicholas Sarkozy, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, as well as other leaders and environmental officials. The meeting, which took place in London, was at the request of Prince Charles, who is actively involved in the campaign against global warming.

Brazilian Tasso Azevedo, the head of the Brazilian Forest Service, one of the government bodies responsible for protecting the Amazon, attended the meeting. He reported that the proposed fund would raise US$10 – 15 billion per year, beginning in 2010. Brazil would be the largest beneficiary, and would receive up to US$4 billion per year to protect the Amazon.

According to Azevedo, the fund would include financing from both governments, companies and private donors. He also mentioned that the funding for each country would depend on the results of each country’s conservation efforts. An official proposal for the fund will be presented at the G-8 meeting in June.