The initiative is the brainchild of tech entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth, who for over a decade has been promoting a model of exclusive ecotourism aimed at an ultra-wealthy foreign clientele.

The dividend scheme, which Shuttleworth’s charitable organisation pays out individually to locals, aims to encourage them to preserve their natural environment — a mountainous volcanic island, bordered by pristine beaches and whose tropical forest is home to a wealth of endemic species.

In return for agreeing in writing not to engage in environmentally damaging activities like sand extraction or unregulated logging, adults can receive up to 6,250 dobras ($290) per quarter — the equivalent of around $3.20 a day.

It represents a bonus in a tiny country where 45 percent of the population lives on less than $3.60 a day, according to the latest World Bank data from 2017.

But some critics say the initiative is a missed opportunity to work with the government to address the island’s economic and social needs.

“I’ve just received the first quarterly payment. At 900 dobras it’s definitely not a salary but it’ll help,” grinned 23-year-old technician Ermelindo Mendes, talking to AFP from his village of Monte Alegre in the lush hills.

The whole of Principe, part of the archipelago of Sao Tome and Principe, is an internationally recognised UNESCO biosphere reserve.

Staying in one of Shuttleworth’s four hotels on the archipelago can cost up to $1,700 a night.

The hotelier promises his guests — most of whom are European -– a luxury experience discovering a “hidden west African paradise”.

– Nature’s guardians –

His business model depends on preserving Principe’s pristine natural environment.

So in February, to enlist the support of the island’s 10,000 inhabitants, Shuttleworth began offering them a small nature dividend via his charitable organisation, the Faya Foundation.

The locals are “nature’s principal guardians. We need them on our side”, said Vik Michau, a sociologist with the Foundation.

None have yet earned the maximum dividend of $290 per quarter.

“Data monitoring shows the natural environment isn’t in an optimal state yet,” Michau said.

To earn more, locals need to reforest the island and make what she described as “better choices regarding the natural environment”.

Every year, 15,000 tourists visit the 140-square-kilometre (54-square-mile) island.

Many book the luxury package offered by Shuttleworth’s HBD (Here Be Dragons) group.

“Most visitors are looking for nature, tranquillity and peace — everything the region has to offer,” said Wander Dias de Sousa Pires, the head of the Principe tourist board.

– ‘We see the suffering’ –

But for the inhabitants of one of the world’s poorest countries, the picture-postcard scenery masks a precarious daily struggle, beset by logistical difficulties and affected by distant geopolitical events over which they have no control.

“People who come here look at the scenery and say to themselves: ‘This is paradise.’ But those who live here see the suffering,” said Conceicao Moreno, a 46-year-old member of parliament.

“We face utterly degrading social and economic conditions. The cost of living is very high, we have no access to quality healthcare or education and the roads and most of the infrastructure are in a state of disrepair,” he said.

Moreno declined to take part in the dividend programme, wary of the “relationship of domination” the grant might entail and unconvinced of its benefits to the recipients.

“The amounts paid out are too insignificant to have any impact on a family’s survival,” he said.

“They should have partnered with the government to offer social progress and infrastructure that would guarantee the island’s development”.

Michau said this view was to misunderstand the purpose of the foundation’s “pioneering experiment”.

The dividend is “not a salary” and charitable work cannot take the place of the state, she said.

“We are a private organisation, not the government. We have drawn a very clear line between what falls within the government’s remit, what we do here and where we can help.”

Humaniterre with AFP