Since February, Mark Shuttleworth’s Faya Foundation has offered Principe adults quarterly conservation payments of up to 6,250 dobras ($290) if they pledge in writing to avoid environmental damage such as sand extraction and unregulated logging.
Principe is a UNESCO biosphere reserve with 10,000 residents and 15,000 tourists a year. Staying at one of Shuttleworth’s four hotels in the archipelago can cost up to $1,700 a night. Technician Ermelindo Mendes, 23, told AFP he received 900 dobras in a first quarterly payment. The foundation says no one has yet earned the maximum; its monitoring shows the environment is not in an optimal state. It says residents can qualify for more by reforesting and making better environmental choices.
MP Conceição Moreno declined to participate, arguing the payments are too small to affect family survival and that the foundation should have partnered with government on social progress and infrastructure. Moreno cited high living costs, lack of access to quality health care and education, and roads and other infrastructure in disrepair. World Bank data from 2017 said 45% of the country’s population lived on less than $3.60 a day. Foundation sociologist Vik Michau said the dividend is not a salary and charitable work cannot replace the state.
