WASHINGTON - THE Walt Disney Co says it will spend US$7 million (S$9.8 million) in partnership with three conservation groups to protect tens of thousands of acres (hectares) of forests lands in the Congo basin, the Amazon basin and in two regions of the United States.

The projects announced on Tuesday are designed to work with local communities to either plant trees or set aside forest lands for protection against logging.

In partnership with Conservation International, Disney is providing US$4 million for forest protection projects at two reserves in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and for a forest program in the Amazon basin area of Peru.

The company also said it will work with the Nature Conservancy and provide US$2 million for tree planting on 2,000 acres (810 hectares) of former forest lands in the lower Mississippi Valley in the United States and US$1 million for the Conservation Fund's forest protection project along California's Northern Coast.

Peter Seligmann, chairman of Conservation International, said the Disney commitment 'represents the largest single corporate contribution ever made to reduce (greenhouse) emissions from deforestation.'

The project in the Congo is expected to prevent 3 million tons (2.7 million metric tons) of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere over 20 years, and the project in Peru to protect 740,000 acres (299,470 hectares) of pristine forests is expected to prevent the release of 900,000 tons (816,465 metric tons) of carbon dioxide over its five-year life, according to the conservation group. -- AP