Economy
Amazon – Dead or Alive
RICHARD BLACK – Environment correspondent, BBC News
The Amazon forest may be worth more alive than dead, researchers say
Cutting down Amazon forest for cattle and soy does not bring long-term economic progress, researchers say.
A study of 286 Amazon municipalities found that deforestation brought quick benefits that were soon reversed.
Writing in the journal Science, the researchers say the deforestation cycle helps neither people nor nature.
They suggest that mechanisms to reward people in poorer countries for conserving rainforest could change this “lose-lose-lose” situation.