Sustainable palm fruit harvesting as a pathway to conserve Amazon peatland forests

Sustainable management of intact tropical peatlands is crucial for climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation and to support the livelihoods local communities. Here, we explore whether sustainable fruit harvesting from Mauritia flexuosa palms could these linked goals by increasing production incomes across 2.8 million hectares most carbon-dense ecosystem in Amazonia: lowland northeastern Peru. M. dioecious, fruits are typically harvested felling female palms; proportion therefore provides a good indicator health stand. Across 93 widely distributed sites, found that increases with travel time urban market, overall, has halved current potential income this resource. However, significantly more where climbing. We estimate region-wide uptake climbing eventually increase 51% its gross value US$62 ± 28.2 yr–1. These findings demonstrate high cost unsustainable resource extraction Neotropical forests outline practical path conserve sustainably exploit one carbon-rich landscapes on planet. A study how Amazon can aid efforts mitigate change.