Birmingham Airport backs Brazilian rainforest project

A corner of a Brazilian rainforest will be forever Birmingham after the city airport invested £20,000 to protect 180 acres of endangered forest.

Birmingham International Airport has spent the money to both protect the trees and lock away nearly 50,000 tonnes of CO2, equivalent to that produced by the airport’s buildings over two years.

As part of the project, money will also be spent on classroom equipment, solar powered internet and a boat for a school in the heart of the Amazon called Escola Estadual, which serves communities in a 10-mile radius in the state of Mato Grosso.

John Morris, the airport’s head of corporate and community affairs, said: "Overall, aviation contributes two per cent of the world's CO2, however it is committed to finding ways to mitigate its operations.

"Birmingham Airport is totally dedicated to this and today’s launch is one of the many ways we are acting on reducing our global impact whilst helping communities. We’re proud of this joint partnership and hope it continues to grow from strength to strength."

The airport has worked alongside Cool Earth, a charity that protects endangered rainforest from deforestation, to secure an area called Democracia, which lies on the northerly bank of the Rio Madeira or "Wood River" and is right at the frontier of destruction.

Loggers began cutting timber in the region in 2005, but since Cool Earth secured the forest the area will be protected for at least the next 25 years, enabling the local community to harvest produce from it for income and enjoy free access to 30,000 acres.

And to ensure people in the Birmingham area see how the initiative works it was launched at Small Heath School and Sixth Form College where students have been learning about all things Brazilian, including studies in culture, environment, language and cuisine.

Co-founder of Cool Earth, Frank Field MP, said: "Through our charity, sponsors can secure land that would otherwise be sold to loggers and ranchers, pricing deforestation out of the market.

"We put donations into a local trust, and protect the forests around the clock to keep the carbon where it belongs, ensuring that rainforest communities take the lead in conservation and get the full benefit of better incomes and security that standing forest provides. Sponsorship also helps to fund community health and education services."

© Cheapflights Ltd Craig McGinty