Colombian President Gustavo Petro has indicated that he will ask rich countries and multinational companies to pay farmers to protect the Amazon rainforest and restore deforested areas.

During a visit to an indigenous school in Leticia, the capital of the province of Amazonas, he pointed out that “we need to create a financial fund of about $500 million annually, on a permanent basis and for twenty years, so that the largest companies in the world and the richest governments, if they really want to advance the fight against climate change, they can use our financing either in the form of carbon credits or through direct contributions.”

“The new Colombian government intends to use this money to pay monthly benefits to 100,000 Amazonian families who will work to re-grow forests where they have burned down and protect them when they are in danger,” Petro explained. The Amazon Basin, which extends over an area of ​​7.4 million square kilometers, covers about forty percent of South America in nine countries and has an estimated population of 34 million, most of whom are indigenous peoples.