It has been a good week for the ecologically necessary concept of paying for rainforest protection [search] on the basis of biodiversity and climate benefits. Hundreds of indigenous leaders gathered in Brazil to build a consensus for wealthier countries compensating developing countries for conserving Amazon’s tropical rainforests [ark]. There it was correctly noted “the challenge is to pay the native peoples, not the governments” for rainforest protection.

A new study found that “global carbon markets [search] could generate billions of dollars [ark] each year for developing countries that tackle tropical deforestation [search]“. And the Brazilian government unveiled a scheme to pay the residents of the Amazon for the ecosystem services [ark] their bioregion provides. The program seeks to reward small-scale community development while providing a disincentive to large-scale destructive activities such as logging, soya production and cattle ranching.