A few years ago, the Peruvian government launched a program to protect the rainforest.
A few years ago, the Peruvian government launched a program to protect the rainforest. However, an analysis by the Center for Development Research (ZEF) at the University of Bonn shows that its effect is small. But the researchers also have good news: Three measures could probably significantly increase effectiveness. The study is now published in the Journal Environmental Research Letters.
In their publication the scientists analyze the “National Forest Conservation Program” (NFCP). It was launched by the Peruvian government in 2010 to curb the deforestation of the rainforest. The program is aimed at indigenous communities in the Amazon region. It is mainly funded from public Peruvian sources and by international donors.
Communities that succeed in effectively curbing deforestation on their territory and establishing sustainable production systems receive a compensation payment: the equivalent of three dollars per year and per hectare of forest. They also receive technical assistance to implement the sustainable production systems. “We have investigated the extent to which the program has successfully contributed to forest conservation,” explains Renzo Giudice. The Peruvian is a PhD candidate and researcher at the ZEF with a DAAD scholarship. His doctoral thesis is supervised by Prof. Dr. Jan Börner, whose working group investigates the economic aspects of sustainable land use.
Read more at University of Bonn
Image: The cultivation of cocoa plants is often part of the sustainable production systems implemented by the participating communities. (Credit: © Photo: Renzo Giudice/Uni Bonn)
