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A Sensible Way of Incentivizing Brazil to Preserve Rainforest
1. A Sensible Way of Incentivizing
Brazil to Preserve Rainforest
By: Benjamin Spacapan
2. A Sensible Way of Incentivizing Brazil to Preserve
Rainforest
A Harvard Business School MBA student who is also pursuing his JD at Harvard Law School,
Benjamin Spacapan previously focused on Near East history at Princeton University. While an
undergraduate, Benjamin Spacapan was particularly interested in the areas of foreign policy and
developing economy dynamics.
3. A Sensible Way of Incentivizing Brazil to Preserve
Rainforest
A recent Financial Times article brought attention to the rapid fire-fueled, human-caused
destruction of the Amazonian rainforest. With President Jair Bolsonaro having drawn intense
international criticism for wanting to economically exploit what is considered part of the global
commons, the author argues that it is unfair to ask Brazil to unilaterally curb current practices that
turn rainforest into farming and mining land. For example, Saudi Arabia is not being asked to put
an end to exploring and extracting its oil reserves, as a way of reducing fossil fuel consumption.
4. A Sensible Way of Incentivizing Brazil to Preserve
Rainforest
One proposed solution is an annual compensation scheme that would provide Brazil with a fair
amount of money for ensuring that no further rainforest is destroyed. Unfortunately, recent offers
have been feeble and restrictive. When the G7 recently put a $22 million aid package on the table,
Bolsonaro accused the group of treating Brazil as though it were a colony.
5. A Sensible Way of Incentivizing Brazil to Preserve
Rainforest
A feasible approach would be to make such offers “no strings attached,” with preserving rainforest
the only mandate and no stipulations made on how the money is used. By many calculations, the
cost would not be high, with the author estimating that it would represent a minuscule percentage
of the total GDP of the developed countries.