Dear colleagues,
Below my standpoint:
Firstly, forests provide several environmental services. So, traditional communities should be compensated and thus receive an economic incentive for that. The economic incentive not just decrease the communities' opportunity costs and therefore deforestation/degradation of native forests, but is also an important source of income that can be diverted to purchase food, for instance. Most part of family farmers in northern Brazil, especially within the Brazilian Legal Amazon Region, are food net buyers and thus alternative sources of income such as "bolsa-floresta" or "bolsa-verde" - which are based on environmental services payment - are really important for food security and nutrition of those families and at the same time a significant tool for forests preservation (win-win strategy).
Best regards
Marcus V.A. Finco, PhD
Professor at Federal University of Tocantins, Brazil
Marcus Vinicius Alves Finco