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Cash payments to Peruvian Amazon communities help protect rainforest, study finds

The Guardian 20 October 2026 2 min read

In short

  • Almost 90% of participants in the Peru scheme adopted environmentally beneficial practices, researchers say.
  • The unconditional basic income pilot targets Indigenous people in the Peruvian Amazon.
  • The analysis comes from the University of Bath and is expected to feed a wider debate on direct payments.

Why the Good News Desk likes this one

The study links an unconditional income for Indigenous Amazon residents to protective land practices. It is a pilot, so its findings are early and limited to this scheme. The analysis may shape how governments think about paying communities that maintain important ecosystems.

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From The Guardian

Researchers say almost 90% of participants in unconditional basic income scheme in Peru adopted environmentally beneficial practices A pioneering project to provide Indigenous people in the Peruvian Amazon with an unconditional basic income has contributed to the protection of the rainforest, according to a study. The analysis from the University of Bath is expected to contribute to a growing debate about the role of direct payments to communities that maintain globally important ecosystems. Continue reading...

Read the full story at The Guardian Opens the publisher's site in a new tab.

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For kids

In a part of Peru, families who live in the Amazon forest were given money each day. Researchers found that most of them started caring for the forest in new ways. Talk about it: what do you think helps a forest stay healthy?

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