Why Liberia is paying residents to protect its rainforests

Almost half of West Africa’s Upper Guinea Forest stands in the small coastal country of Liberia. But this priceless ecosystem - home to many unique species and a vital storehouse of carbon - is being chipped away at, year by year. Liberia has some of Africa’s most forward-thinking forestry laws, with communities able to dictate what happens in the forests where they live. But the cash incentives offered by loggers, miners and slash-and-burn agriculture mean that #deforestation is growing at 2% a year. Now, the Liberian NGO Integrated Development and Learning has proposed a solution: pay people to keep the forests intact. Funded by the Irish government, it’s handing out $100 per year to communities for every square kilometre of preserved rainforest - roughly twice what they could get from illegal logging companies.