Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Families Paid to Take Care of Jungles

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jun 2 2008 (IPS) - The Family Forestry Grant, an innovative program of the northwestern Brazilian state of Amazonas, will benefit 2,000 more families by December, paying 50 reais (29 dollars) per month to those who help preserve the forest. Currently 2,102 families in six sustainable development reserves (SDR) receive the incentive. “Our minimum goal is to reach 4,000 families this year,” João Pezza, director of the Sustainable Amazonas Foundation, which runs the program, told Tierramérica.

An assessment of the SDRs, under state jurisdiction, will determine the efficiency of this form of paying for environmental services, which reaches its one-year mark in June.

In addition to the families, three other modalities of collective grants will benefit citizen groups and local communities, supporting sustainable extractive practices and improving education and health.