A working example of partnership between developed and developing countries to save forests

Guyana- a former British colony, sandwiched between Venezuela and Brazil, home to fewer than a million people but boasting an intact rainforest larger than England- signed with Norway on Wednesday, 18th November, one of the biggest forest conservation deals, where the oil-rich country invests $250m to preserve the rainforests of the Latin America nation.
Both sides remarked their intention to "provide the world with a working example of how partnerships between developed and developing countries can save the world's tropical forests".
Speaking during a visit to London, President Jagdeo of Guyana said that public pressure was vital on rich, polluting countries to "help progressive politicians to deliver results on climate change". The Guyanese leader thanked those who had brought the country's rainforest offer into the international arena.
"The Independent was key to getting our original message to the public, and this kind of campaigning journalism will be vital in the years to come," he said.
As The Independent paper indicates: Countries like Guyana, whose capital Georgetown is extremely vulnerable to rising sea levels, have contributed next to nothing to the heat- trapping gases in the atmosphere that cause global warming. Yet they will be among the first victims of a changed climate and have been seeking ways to preserve the vast carbon sinks of their tropical forest without sacrificing development in a country where many live in abject poverty.
Under the terms of the agreement with Norway, Guyana will accelerate its efforts to limit forest-based greenhouse gas emissions and protect its rainforest as an asset for the world. Norway will provide financial support of up to $250m over five years in line with the Jagdeo administration's success in implementing limiting emissions and halting deforestation.
"Through this partnership, we are building a bridge between developed and developing countries," said Norway's Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim. "We are giving the world a workable model for climate change collaboration between North and South. It's not perfect, but it's good, and it will be improved upon as we learn and develop together."
The Independent puts it in an excellent explanation mode: The accelerating destruction of the rainforests that form a cooling band around the earth's equator is recognized as one the main causes of climate change.
Adding something not well diffused among people: Tropical deforestation accounts for one-fifth of all carbon emissions, more than the entire transport sector – including the aviation industry. The landmark Stern Review concluded that forests offer the single largest chance for cost-effective and immediate reductions of carbon emissions.