Paying Farmers Not to Clear the Rainforest

In Brazil, the lure of quick money in exchange for an acre of land proves tempting for many landowners. Cleared land, which can be used to farm soybeans or raise cattle, fetches as much as $1,300 an acre. The environmental impact is striking: 70 percent of Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions can be traced back to deforestation.

The Brazilian government is hoping to change that by offering cash hand-outs to landowners who agree not to raze their land. Here to tell us more is Jeff Tollefson. He’s an energy and environment correspondent for Nature who recently returned from the Peruvian Amazon. He joins us on the line from Washington, DC as part of our “next green thing” series.

Nature: Paying To Save The Rainforests (subscription required)

New York Times: In Brazil, Paying Farmers to Let the Trees Stand

(Photo by LeRoc via Flickr/Creative Commons)