Today, conservation compliance is a U.S. policy between governments and farmers that reward farmers with federal subsidies for good conservation practices on designated vulnerable lands. But economist Clayton Ogg believes it could now be used to save forests in countries like Brazil, China, India, and Indonesia.

The Brazilian tapir (Tapirus terrestris) may get a bad rap in Brazil, where referring to someone as a “tapir” essentially equates to calling them an “ass,” but history has shown that this species is deserving of a lot more respect.

Local communities can have a huge impact on the environment, and by giving them more power and responsibility for their area, conservation efforts would be aided one scientist found while she was researching endangered primates in Peru.