More than a dozen African governments pledged to restore the continent's natural forests at the United Nations climate talks on Sunday, AP reported. The earth has lost more than half its forests over the course of human history, according to the World Resources Institute. The deforestation of the world's tropical forests has contributed to climate change by producing up to 15 percent of global carbon emissions, the organization said. The AFR100 initiative is a pledge by African nations to restore 100 million hectares (about 386,000 square miles) of forest by 2030, according to the organization. "As the world forges a climate agreement in Paris, African countries which bear the least historic responsibility for climate change are showing leadership with ambitious pledges to restore land," said Andrew Steer, president and CEO of the World Resources Institute. During the Global Landscapes Forum at the U.N. climate talks, the World Bank and the German government and other partners, set aside more than $1 billion in development funding and $540 million in private funding for the African reforestation. More than a dozen African countries, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda, have pledged millions of acres to the project. West African nations along the Sahara desert have also pledged to plant more trees to stop the ever encroaching desert from destroying more arable land.
