Costa Rica’s Rainforests Rebound With Conservation Payments

Costa Rica is being singled out as a rare rainforest counterexample: while global forest loss continues, its forest cover has been rebounding. The core mechanism in the spotlight is straightforward but radical—long-running public payments that reward landholders for measurable conservation outcomes.

In a world where “nature” is often treated as priceless (meaning budgetless), Costa Rica’s model treats ecosystem services as something the state can actually pay for—and, therefore, protect at scale.