Brazilian Environmental Groups Pay Farmers to Not Cut Down Trees

Farmers in Brazil who have permits to clear rainforest land in order to grow crops are being offered yearly cash payments by environmental groups to leave the forest intact. The New York Times explains:

Driven by profits derived from fertile soil, the region's dense forests have been aggressively cleared over the past decade, and Mato Grasso is now Brazil's leading producer of soy, corn and cattle, exported across the globe by multinational companies.

Deforestation, a critical contributor to climate change, effectively accounts for 20 percent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions and 70 percent of the emissions in Brazil. Halting new deforestation, experts say, is as powerful a way to combat warming as closing the world's coal plants.

But until now, there has been no financial reward for keeping forest standing. Which is why a growing number of scientists, politicians and environmentalists argue that cash payments -- like that offered to Mr. Marcolini -- are the only way to end tropical forest destruction and provide a game-changing strategy in efforts to limit global warming.

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