In a new study, researchers recently discovered that Indonesia's national anti-poverty program reduced deforestation by about 30%. The study's findings were published today in Science Advances.

"Two of the great global challenges of the 21st century are to reduce poverty and slow deforestation. Unfortunately, the solutions to those challenges are often perceived as conflicting with each other—progress on one front means retreat on the other," says Paul Ferraro, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Human Behavior and Public Policy at the Johns Hopkins University and the study's first author.

The study is the first of its kind to suggest that cash transfers to communities in poverty can positively affect forest conservation, says the study's co-author, Rhita Simorangkir, a Research Fellow at the National University of Singapore.

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