FAQs
2. Does the PRP have or fund field projects?
3. Is it possible to donate money to the PRP?
4. What will the PRP do in 2009? When will it end?
5. What is the PRP's measure of success?
6. Why does the PRP work with business?
7. How does the PRP relate to the UN Climate Convention?
8. Why is the PRP looking only at tropical rainforests? Why not all forests?
9. What is the PRP's carbon footprint?
10. What does The Prince of Wales do to reduce his own carbon footprint?
11. Where can I find reliable information on rainforests and rainforest loss?
1. What is the relationship between The Prince's Rainforests Project (PRP) and The Prince's Trust and other Prince's Charities?
The PRP's connection to The Prince's Trust and other Prince's Charities is that they are all part of The Prince's Charities group, which currently consists of 20 charities (including The Prince's Trust), 6 social enterprises and 3 initiatives, active across a broad range of areas including opportunity and enterprise, education, health, the built environment, responsible business, the natural environment and the arts. They all reflect The Prince of Wales' long-term and innovative perspective and seek to address areas of previously unmet need. The PRP is one of the 3 project initiatives under the umbrella of The Prince's Charities Foundation, and are public and private sector, not independent charities in their own right, unlike The Prince's Trust.
2. Does the PRP have or fund field projects?
The PRP was established with the aim of encouraging consensus as to how the rate of tropical deforestation might be slowed, not to implement or fund field projects in rainforest nations themselves.
3. Is it possible to donate money to the PRP?
The Prince's Rainforests Project does not accept donations. This is because it does not attempt to fund conservation activities or other projects in Rainforest Nations. Instead, its focus is on conducting research, developing policy proposals and building public awareness - and it has already raised sufficient funding for these activities. If you wish to donate money to rainforest conservation, we suggest that you approach one of the many non-governmental environmental organisations which require funding from members of the public for project activities in the rainforests of the world.
4. What will the PRP do in 2009? When will it end?
The PRP has released a report that contains its proposal for an ‘Emergency Package for Tropical Forests'. This was presented to governments and other interested parties at a meeting hosted by HRH The Prince of Wales on 1st April 2009, at which it was decided to establish an international Working Group to study these and other proposals further. During the rest of 2009, the PRP will continue to refine its proposals and work on increasing public awareness of the problem of tropical deforestation. The project is scheduled to finish at the end of 2009. By then, it is hoped that governments will have made formal commitments to establish and finance an emergency mechanism to reduce tropical deforestation. It will be up to these governments and other international institutions to take responsibility for implementation - the role of the PRP is to act as a catalyst.
5. What is the PRP's measure of success?
The project will be successful if it raises the understanding for the need for interim finances for rainforest nations until money derived from other mechanisms is available at scale. Different estimates exist of the sums required to substantially reduce deforestation, but it is likely to reach over $10 billion per year.
6. Why does the PRP work with businesses?
A critical part of the PRP's work has been engagement with the world's largest companies. By working with these channels to consumers, the PRP has been better able to raise awareness about rainforest destruction and the need for an emergency solution, as well as increase support from the general public to help stop deforestation.
7. How does the PRP relate to the UN Climate Convention?
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has the goal of preventing dangerous human interference with the climate system. Tropical deforestation, which causes 17% of all greenhouse gas emissions, is therefore also on its agenda. The Conference of the Parties (COP) - the highest decision-making authority of the Convention - held in Bali in 2007 saw the launch of negotiations on a mechanism for Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD), which are set to conclude at the December 2009 COP in Copenhagen. The project does not interact directly with the UNFCCC, but we do see the REDD mechanism as the most likely long-term solution to the problem of tropical deforestation. The Emergency Package proposed by the project would not be a replacement for, or an alternative to, the REDD mechanism or any other avoided deforestation scheme formulated under the UNFCCC. Instead, the Emergency Package would act as a bridging mechanism, for example through building the capacities in Rainforest Nations that would be needed to participate in a REDD mechanism.
8. Why is The Prince's Rainforests Project looking only at tropical rainforests? Why not all forests?
The Prince of Wales is very aware that some non-tropical forests, such as the Southern temperate forests, are highly threatened as well. But whereas the forests are gaining ground in most temperate countries, e.g. in Europe and the USA, tropical rainforests continue to be lost on all continents where they occur: Africa, Asia and Central and South America. Tropical rainforests have a much higher carbon content per hectare than almost any other forest type - therefore preventing their loss is a key element of the battle against climate change. Protecting these forests could have a double cooling effect, not just through reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by up to 17% (!) but also due to evaporative cooling from the rainforest canopy. Furthermore, tropical rainforests harbour millions of species of animals and plants - as much as half the variety of life on earth - and we are losing countless species before we have even identified and studied them. Last but by no means least, hundreds of millions of people depend on tropical rainforests for their survival and well-being.
9. What is the PRP's carbon footprint?
The PRP's carbon footprint for the tax year 2008-09 was 414 tonnes.
We have investigated how to ensure that money spent in offsetting our footprint has the highest possible impact. We have established the cost of our emissions at market rate and are committing an equivalent amount to support projects that help reduce forest degradation by assisting local parties to gain FSC certification.
In this way we hope to achieve a reduction in emissions many times that of our footprint.
10. What does The Prince of Wales do to reduce his own carbon footprint?
Please click here to read about what HRH The Prince of Wales does to reduce his carbon footprint.
11. Where can I find reliable information on rainforests and rainforest loss?
It is surprisingly hard to get accurate data on tropical rainforest extent and change. As a consequence, almost all the global and national rainforest cover and deforestation data provided on this website (and anywhere else) should be taken as approximations. The Prince's Rainforests Project has been meeting with scientists, space agencies, government officials and private sector providers of forest data and maps to understand the obstacles to obtaining accurate forest data and find ways to improve the accuracy, frequency and transparency of data collection in the future.
12. What can I do to help?
Perhaps the most important action that most people in developed countries can take is to be a more careful consumer. There are now many products that are made without causing forest loss. For example, FSC certified wood and paper ensures that forests where timber is harvested are managed sustainably. You can also ask large retailer chains, and large food processing companies, how they ensure that the palm oil, soy, and beef used in their products does not originate from deforested land. Some of these products produced in a way that doesn’t harm the rainforests are already offered for sale, and certified by organisations such as the Rainforest Alliance. Companies listen to their customers, and by changing how you shop you can change how firms develop their businesses.
Raising awareness is another key way to make a difference, by talking about the issue and helping others to understand what is going on helps to build the groundswell of opinion that we need to change how societies think about things like this. Again, there is good reason to believe this works - just look at the issue of climate change and how peoples’ views have changed.
