Resource-rich countries find it pays to pay landholders to protect their land

From Dimitri Selibas / ENSIA: Guatemala’s reforestation programs pay farmers to keep their lands forested instead of clearing them for farming. The annual $380 payment each participant receives for 5 to 10 years comes from the general taxes collected by the government.

Click here to read the full story on ENSIA.

Issue Areas:

Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, Land Use, Sustainable Farming, Wellbeing Economics

Impact Areas:

Distributed Trust and Power, Environmental Sustainability, Health and Wellness

Actors:

Farmers, Government

Communities Served:

Communities Experiencing Economic Hardship, Farmers

Strategies:

Easing Economic Burdens for Individuals, Reallocating Government / Public Financing, Redefining Land / Land Ownership, Regeneration

Success Factors:

Attacking Root Causes, Eliminating Barriers, Empowering People, Establishing Social Norms, Providing Cash Instead Of Goods/Services, Using Financial Incentives

Geographic Region:

Central America, Latin America and the Caribbean

Countries:

Guatemala

Date:

May 11, 2023

More Resources:

Conversation with Kay Watson

Kay Watson is a researcher, producer, and curator working with art and advanced technologies, photography, and video games. She is currently Head of Arts Technologies at Serpentine where she leads the art and technology programme. She is a Trustee of...

Conversation with Thomas Legrand

Thomas Legrand is the Lead Technical Advisor for the UNDP-convened Conscious Food Systems Alliance (CoFSA). He holds a Ph.D. in Economics and has 20 years of experience in sustainable land use, climate change, sustainable finance, leadership, and developing inner capacities...

The Surprising Lives of Germany’s ‘Basic Income’ Raffle Winners

From Marjolein Koster, Ties Gijzel / Reasons to Be Cheerful: A randomly selected group of lucky Germans are reaping the benefits of a guaranteed monthly income. An organization raffles off a year’s worth of guaranteed monthly income, allowing recipients to...

What Kenya can teach its neighbors — and the US — about improving the lives of the “unbanked”

From Kelsey Piper / Vox: Mobile banking in Kenya has increased economic mobility for families living in poverty. The mobile money system is not connected to bank accounts, making it accessible to the overwhelming majority of Kenyans who don’t have...

Universal basic income transfers better than subsidies; Madhya Pradesh model shows improvement in living standards

From Sunil Jain / The Financial Express: SEWA-INBI pilots a basic universal income program for two villages in Madhya Pradesh. These funds enabled residents to pay for facilities and electricity in their homes, buy better cooking fuel, increase the weight...

Conversation with Deepa Iyer

Deepa Iyer is the co-founder of Ayeko Farms, an initiative focused on sustainable agriculture and building community resilience through farming practices. She works to promote environmental sustainability and social equity by fostering deeper connections between communities and the land. Deepa...