Colombia: UK gives £64m to protect rainforests and biodiversity
Marking World Environment Day, the UK will give Colombia a £64 million funding package to protect the Amazon and tropical rainforests.
According to Alok Sharma, COP26 President and Business Secretary, the money was part of the UK's commitment to fighting global climate change.
The financial package also comes as many show concern over the fate of the rainforest given that Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro continues to insist he will exploit its riches.
Working with the Colombian government, deforestation will hopefully reduce in the Amazon and across the country, helping to protect precious ecosystems, and support sustainable, rural livelihoods for communities that depend on the forest.
Making the UK's donation so vital, Colombia is dubbed a "megadiverse" country - a biodiversity hotspot. The country is host to nearly 10 per cent of the planet's biodiversity and behind to Brazil, is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world.
Moreover, Colombia ranks first in the world for bird and orchid species, second for plants, butterflies, freshwater fish and amphibians, and third for species of palm trees and reptiles.
Colombia's Minister for the Environment, Ricardo Lozano, said the British package would help to "focus on supporting the fight against deforestation and environmental crime, as well as the creation of sustainable livelihoods".
The care package builds on £173 million of UK support to Colombia and is part of the UK's International Climate Finance Programme.