Investing in environmental services would stave off deforestation in 13 million hectares of Brazil’s Amazonia at least until 2016, according to a book presented by the Ministry of Environmental Affairs, which sets criteria for calculating compensations. “The most important service is to maintain the forests, which retain carbon dioxide and regulate rainfall, in addition to preventing consequences such as erosion, sedimentation, and water shortage,” Mauro Armelin, of the Brazilian chapter of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), explained.

Quantifying the potential losses and compensating environmental services helps the government and the population understand that it is cheaper and more efficient to preserve the forest than to try to repair the damage after the fact, he said.

The government will draft a single decree with the six bills on this subject that are currently under discussion in parliament, Environmental Minister Carlos Minc announced.