New Fund Launched to Combat South American Wildfires Amid Global Funding Shortfalls

A new philanthropic fund aiming to raise $100 million for wildfire prevention in South America has been announced amid escalating wildfire crises and persistent funding gaps for tropical forest preservation globally. The initiative, launched during New York Climate Week and the U.N. General Assembly, focuses on the Amazon rainforest, a critical component in the fight against climate change.

Despite the new fund, a United Nations report released Thursday indicates a multibillion-dollar shortfall in financing needed to protect tropical forests worldwide. The South American fund excludes large forest regions in Africa and Southeast Asia, areas also grappling with increasingly severe wildfires.

Wildfires have recently spread across the Amazon during its dry season, leading to unhealthy air quality in cities like Manaus, Brazil. Experts warn that the Amazon faces an existential threat, with the coming years being crucial for its preservation.

The situation is mirrored in Southeast Asia, where worsening climate change, exacerbated by an intensifying El Nino, has fueled fires. Indonesia, in particular, has experienced massive fires that have destroyed vast tracts of land and raised serious public health concerns due to toxic haze across the region. This exclusion of Southeast Asia from the new fund has been described as a significant oversight by regional experts.

South America endured one of its most severe fire seasons in 2024, with fires breaking records across the Amazon, Pantanal, and Chiquitano dry forests. Authorities and researchers are working to prevent a recurrence, particularly as El Nino is expected to intensify drought and heat in the coming year.

The new South America fund, led by non-profits Renaissance Philanthropy and Conservation X Labs, aims to improve wildfire detection and response. It is supported by initial contributions of $30 million from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and $5 million from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The fund draws inspiration from existing initiatives, such as an Indigenous fire brigade program in Bolivia and a camera network in Brazil.

Wildfires are increasingly contributing to forest loss as global temperatures rise. The burning of trees releases greenhouse gases, which in turn drive higher temperatures and make forests more susceptible to fire, creating a detrimental cycle. A study from the University of Maryland found that wildfires now consume more than twice the tree cover annually compared to two decades ago, with tropical forests experiencing more than a threefold increase.

Unlike ecosystems like savannas, rainforests are not naturally adapted to fire. Worsening droughts and rising temperatures have transformed these sensitive environments into highly flammable zones. Experts emphasize that fires in the Amazon are often human-induced, meaning they can be prevented by addressing the underlying human-driven systems.

Tropical rainforests, located primarily in South America's Amazon Basin, Africa's Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia's Borneo, are vital for biodiversity, ecosystem services, and atmospheric moisture regulation. However, a U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network report states these forests remain chronically underfinanced. The report estimates that conserving and restoring tropical forests, along with developing sustainable agroforestry, will require an additional $66.8 billion by 2030, with only $14.6 billion funded as of 2023.

The distribution of existing international funding is also characterized by a lack of coordination and inequality. The Congo Basin, the world's largest net carbon sink, receives only 11% of international funding, with foreign aid projected to decrease by 15% this year.

Other forest conservation initiatives have also faced fundraising challenges. The Tropical Forest Forever Facility, established last year, aims to provide developing countries with funds to protect forests but is struggling to meet its $10 billion target. Experts attribute these funding shortfalls partly to short-term political cycles that discourage long-term investment in environmental protection and a perception among wealthier nations that adaptation is a more viable strategy than upfront mitigation investment.

International support for recent fires in Southeast Asia has been minimal. Indonesia has experienced one of its worst fire seasons, with estimated economic and health losses ranging from approximately $2.2 to $6.8 million. The resulting toxic haze has led to school closures and flight disruptions in Indonesia and raised public health concerns in neighboring countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and the Philippines. There are calls for increased international support to extinguish these fires.