In 1987, 21% of Costa Rica was forest cover. Today, forest cover has swelled to 57%. They did it by paying landowners not to cut their trees. In the 1990s, Costa Rica passed a law funded by a tax on fossil fuels. Landowners receive direct payments for the ecosystem services their forests provide. Keeping the forest standing became worth more than clearing it. Nearly a million hectares of forest have been protected or restored through the program. Biodiversity is recovering. Species that we thought were lost forever are coming back. But it killed their economy, right? Nope. Costa Rica became the top per capita agricultural exporter in Latin America. The Costa Rican economy didn't collapse. It grew. It's not forests or the economy. The forests can be the economy.