Can cash combat the climate crisis? For these Amazonian communities, just maybe

For the complex problem of climate change, one charity has a simple solution: No-strings-attached cash for the Indigenous, the best historical stewards of the rainforest who best know their own basic needs

An Indigenous woman looks at images from a basic income workshop; Patricia Quiñones, who is heading the no-strings-attached cash program for climate charity Cool Earth, says that economic pressure is one of the main ‘drivers of deforestation, alongside illegal mining and logging' (Cool Earth)

Deep in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, where communities maintaining traditional lifestyles now find themselves regularly battling climate change-fueled fires and floods, the president of two indigenous groups sums up locals’ plight.

“Much is said about conservation of forests, but from a vision of only taking care of the trees,” says Ketty, who heads the Organization of Asháninka Amazonian Indigenous Women of the Central Jungle (OMIAASEC). “It is necessary to recognize that within these forests are human beings … indigenous peoples who have inhabited these spaces for thousands of years.”

Indigenous peoples have also historically been best at protecting the rainforests and their ways of living, emphasizes climate change charity Cool Earth – prompting it to partner in 2022 with ONAMIAP and another female-led Indigenous group, OMIAASEC, to support Indigenous peoples with an equally simple idea: No-strings-attached cash.

Asháninka leaders walk in the Amazonian rainforest of Peru, a region key to combating the climate crisis; a new pilot program from charity Cool Earth is trialing no-strings-attached cash payments to Indigenous communities there (Cool Earth)

Through a groundbreaking basic income pilot project, 188 people across three Amazonian communities are receiving £2 a day to supplement their basic and everyday needs – to be used for whatever the recipients deem fit.

“Financial support, in every form, whether it is cash to whole communities or a basic income to individuals, is the fastest and most direct way of supporting rainforest communities and reducing economic pressure, which is one of the main drivers of deforestation alongside illegal mining and logging,” said Patricia Quiñones, who is leading the pilot at Cool Earth. The aim is to defray living costs to help Indigenous communities invest in their futures without the need to sell land or trees and to ensure communities are more resilient when facing the consequences of the climate crisis.

Even before this pilot, the charity had been trialling direct cash payments to counteract unprecedented challenges faced by the communities – where “crops have been lost, pests have appeared [and] there are many diseases,” Ketty explains.

Climate charity Cool Earth has joined with two female-led Indigenous groups to implement the program; here, the ONAMIAP_ OMIASEC team work to prepare the registration of partners in Asháninka and Yanesha communities of the central jungle (Cool Earth)

“We’ve seen communities use cash to buy things like water tanks so families have access to safe drinking water, build classrooms so that children can go to school, and purchase solar lights so communities can continue to work and look after their families long after the sun has gone down,” said Quiñones.

“At the heart of our approach is the fact that we respect the autonomy of the communities we work with, and trust their ability to make decisions based on the unique circumstances they face living in the rainforest and in a climate crisis.”

The current pilot communities are nestled within an area of Amazon rainforest recognized by UNESCO for its rich biodiversity – 737 hectares, home to jaguars, howler monkeys and toucans. The region encompasses an estimated 163,000 trees and more than 300,000 tonnes of carbon equivalent to the annual use of 30,000 people in the UK.

The current pilot communities are nestled within an area of Amazon rainforest recognized by UNESCO for its rich biodiversity – 737 hectares, home to jaguars, howler monkeys and toucans (Cool Earth)

Not only that, but new research released this year shows that these communities also live in an area now known to be some of the most carbon dense rainforests in the world – making it critically important that it’s protected, Cool Earth emphasizes.

For one avocado farmer and father of two, the extra cash infusion has allowed him to buy plants for reforestation and for medicine – in addition to helping him meet his 13-year-old daughter’s educational needs.

“Before, I worried about food and about my daughter’s expenses because she’s studying,” said Elmer, who noted that the fund has made the family and community “now stronger.”

“For her school, I’ve bought everything she needs. She doesn’t want to miss a day, even if it’s raining and she needs to walk 45 minutes.”

An Indigenous woman looks at images from a basic income workshop; Patricia Quiñones, who is heading the program for Cool Earth, says that economic pressure is one of the main ‘drivers of deforestation, alongside illegal mining and logging' (Cool Earth)

Early data from one of the pilot communities has shown that families have better access to food, are able to dedicate more time towards food growing and are more actively involved in reforestation and conservation activities, according to Cool Earth.

“Imagine the impact if you could do this for every rainforest community in the world,” said Quiñones, noting that Indigenous peoples “have a balanced and respectful relationship with the rainforest” but face “huge challenges and a lack of basic human rights, such as access to food, clean water, and healthcare. “Along with this they are dealing with the devastating effects of the climate crisis, their communities face wildfires, droughts and even flooding,” she said.

“What has all of this got to do with protecting rainforest? The answer is simple, people who live in the rainforest have the best track record of keeping it standing.”