Just over twenty five years ago, the Costa Rican government began taxing its citizens for “unproductive” land – meaning land that wasn't used for growing crops. Privately owned rainforest land was considered unproductive, and landowners had to pay the government for keeping their land intact. This led many Costa Ricans to bulldoze their rainforest acreage and use the land for crops or livestock. By the end of the 1970s, half the rainforest in the country was gone.

Today, Costa Rica pays its citizens to preserve or replant forests. A tax on gas is just one way the country generates revenue that it then returns to citizens as payment for “environmental services” like greenhouse gas mitigation, biodiversity, water quality, and scenic beauty. The program has been a huge success, and some communities have used their revenues from preserving forest to build schools and clinics and other necessary services. The government hopes to expand the program by developing ways to pay more people for more resource preservation programs.

For more on Costa Rica's Environmental Services Payment Program, click here [1].

Photo credit: La Selva Biological Station [2]