Peru increases payments to indigenous groups

The government of Peru has announced that it will increase payments to indigenous groups that take part in rainforest conservation efforts.

Antonio Brack, Peru's environment minister, said it will now pay local communities ten sols (£1.90) for every hectare of rainforest they help to preserve, reports the Latin American Herald Tribune.

Mr Brack said communities could receive even higher payments if compensation is given in the future under the UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD).

"If the idea is approved internationally at the coming 15th Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen, it could obtain international support for conservation and we could as much as double that payment," he told Spanish news agency EFE.

Under the REDD scheme, forest land could be worth $800 or more per hectare for its carbon.

Indigenous communities currently receive $30,000 per year for rainforest conservation, but the initiative could make them as much as around $37 million.

Written by Felipe Martinez

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