Panama will receive US$8.9 million from the World Bank and a UN emission-cut program to mitigate the impact of climate change in the country, the National Environmental Authority (ANAM) said Monday.

The funds from the World Bank and the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) would allow Panama to implement the REDD strategy, a program initiated by the United Nations to combat greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries, ANAM said.

The money will be used to recover and increase the country's forest coverage and strengthen ecosystem services and environmental management, it said.

Specialists have repeatedly warned about Central America's vulnerability to natural disasters as a result of global warming.

Javier Arias, head of ANAM, warned earlier this month that damage from climate change had cost Central America about 32 percent to 54 percent of its gross domestic product, and that Panama should do more to combat climate change.

At the climate change summit in Cancun, Mexico, earlier this month, Panama supported the creation of a committee for adaptation to climate change and volunteered to be headquarters of the committee.

(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2010)