The results of a randomized controlled trial conducted in Uganda from 2011 to 2013, and published in nature in mid-2017,

suggests paying people to preserve trees on their land, results in economic benefits that are

double the money spent on these payments. In this case, $20,000 was paid to 180 people across 60 Ugandan villages

in exchange for them not cutting down trees on their land. This added up to about $28 per hectare

of land preserved per year, which was about the same amount of money the people involved in the study

would have earned on average from cutting down these trees for timber. These people were paid at the

end of each year after it was determined that they had adhered to the terms of the agreement,

and the study was paid for by the Ugandan government

using funds from the United Nations. Ultimately, it was determined that it cost the government

about 46 cents to avoid releasing a ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere for two years via this program,

which measures up favorably to an estimate made by the U.S. Environmental Agency that it's worth about $1.11 cents

to avoid releasing a ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere for two years. This metric, often called the social

cost of carbon, takes into account the damage caused by each unit of carbon in the atmosphere

based on its impact on the environment, and consequently its damage to the economy. So based on that method of measurement at least, this program realized $1.11 cents worth of economic

value for every $46.

Spent. Not a bad return on investment.

And importantly, this study exclusively measured the two years during which

it took place, rather than a theoretical extended preservation of these trees. So rather than being

paid to, in theory, set aside a forest forever, or for a generation, or even a decade, over which

time all sorts of things could happen

to the supposedly protected, non-harvested trees. This method of measurement only takes into account

the value of not releasing that carbon for two years. So the measurements here are considered

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