During my 2023-24 IIE Rodman C. Rockefeller Centennial Fellowship research in eastern Panama, I walked through my neighbor Johnson’s land (not his real name), discussing the 18 hectares (44 acres) of steeply inclined secondary forest he has left on his property. As we wandered along the forest’s edge, he turned to me and asked, “How much will you pay me not to cut this forest down?”

His words stopped me in my tracks.

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