FEATURE-Amazon forest schemes await strong climate pact

SUSTAINABILITY

The $30 monthly stipend is a useful rather than a transformational boost to family incomes in Juma, which can be between $2,000 and $5,000 a year.

But for Quadro and the other inhabitants of Juma, which lies in an area threatened by intrusions from a major highway, the payment funded by contributions by guests of the Marriott appears to be changing the way they see the forest.

"If we take trees from the river banks, the river will dry up and it will hurt our fish," he said, standing in front of trees that resounded to the squawks of parrots.

"If we take the trees from the land, it will hurt our hunting and we'll be without food for our children."

Families that receive the Bolsa Floresta pledge to stop destructive practices and act as the eyes and ears of the forest by reporting illegal deforestation -- a role that is often beyond Brazil's thinly-resourced environmental agency.

The idea is for carbon emissions saved in the reserve compared to a "business as usual" scenario to be sold as credits, with the funds used to improve education and stimulate sustainable industries such as nut gathering.

Given a forecast that Juma will generate 3.6 million tonnes of credit in its first 10 years, it could expect a windfall of more than $7 million a year at current carbon prices.

A study by McKinsey & Company found that Brazil could cut its emissions by about 40 percent compared to "business as usual" by 2030 with annual investments of 5.7 billion euros ($8.4 billion) in forest preservation and social programs, half the average global cost of emissions reduction.