Monrovia, Jan. 28 -- Joseph Tumbey walks past the dirt road to his palm farm in Konwonkpo Jeadae district, Greenville, Sinoe County. Once a hunter, he was recruited to work as a forest guard, protecting their portion of the Sapo forest in Sinoe County. His new task was forged by an agreement signed between his town and the Integrated Development Learning (IDL) to conserve 7,131 hectares at a rate of $1.50 per hectare, for a total of US$ 10,715.

"At least we are benefiting from keeping our forest," he says. As part of this, he and other members received a monthly stipend of US$25 as a guard for monthly patrol, monitoring, and reporting. Village Saving Loans Programs (VSLA) are also set up in these communities to help save and keep their m...