LIBREVILLE: France will commit 50 million euros ($52.9 million) to a global scheme to reward countries for protecting their forests and biodiversity, President Emmanuel Macron said at a summit in Gabon on Thursday.

The pledge was announced at the end of the two-day Forest Summit that aimed to assess progress made since last year's COP27 climate conference and renew targets for the preservation and sustainable management of the world's forests.

"We need to have cash on the table and concrete actions," Macron said in a speech on the first full day of a four-nation Africa tour.

France’s Macron set for four-nation tour of Africa

France's commitment is part of a joint 100 million-euro contribution to kickstart a mechanism that would reward countries that are scientifically proven to have protected their forests or restored them.

How Central African countries like Gabon manage their share of the world's second-largest rainforest is critical.

The so-called lungs of Africa store more carbon per hectare than the Amazon, help regulate temperatures, and generate rain for millions in the arid Sahel and distant Ethiopian highlands.