Basic Income of $2.50 Per Day Transforms Amazonian Life And Environment
Two years ago, a first-of-its-kind pilot program gave 200 Indigenous people in the Peruvian Amazon a no-strings-attached basic income of roughly $2.50 a day, via a UK charity. Here's what happened.
A study of the program and the results it achieved, published last week, indicate that guaranteed cash of just $2.50 per day goes a long way to support both families and the environment.
The analysis by England's University of Bath revealed that the financial safety net improved overall well-being, with meal skipping halving and the share of households unable to afford nutritious food dropping from 73 percent to 26 percent, and the share of participants forced to leave home to find work more than halving.
Researchers also found that nearly 9 out of 10 participants reported adopting environmentally beneficial practices, like joining reforestation and native tree planting efforts, restoring critical water springs, and reducing forest burning. And more families shifted away from short-term survival work (like logging) and invested in sustainable farming.
“The findings suggest that when communities have greater security and autonomy, they are better able to protect the ecosystems they depend on,” co-author Nick Langridge said in a statement. Participant Ketty Marcelo, chair of an Indigenous women-led nonprofit in Peru called Omniaasec, said she’s seen firsthand “changes in the strengthening of the community fabric.” Marcelo added: “The communities have gained a great deal of insight and reflection.”
The authors of the new study say the project - which was drawn up with local women’s groups - is the first to offer an unconditional basic income to an Indigenous community in the Amazon.
Dr Neil Howard says: “All of this helps ethical conservation. The incentive to exploit or abandon land is diminished, and people are put front and centre with respect and dignity, which contrasts sharply with the colonial history of conservation and Indigenous policy.”
