Abstract
The Leng River basin in BacKan province, northwest Vietnam hosts critical natural resources where lessons learnt from the pilot project of payment for forest environmental services (PFES) in Lam Dong and Son La provinces can be applied. PFES is broadly defined as an economic instrument that facilitates payments of forest environmental service flows to forest dwellers. The passage of a national PFES Decree in Vietnam where the K-factor framework was used to determine the payment level of environmental services created both opportunities and challenges in the design and implementation of PFES schemes.This paper presents how the national PFES policy was adapted, and how lessons in the pilot provinces were considered in developing a local PFES scheme. Important considerations and criteria for determining K-factors to standardize payments for similar environmental services, as well as the proposed PFES scheme for the Leng River Basin are discussed. The paper concludes that national policy framework and local interpretation of K-factors are crucially important in designing a PFES scheme that meets the realistic and pro-poor elements of PES. Finally, a PFES scheme must have detailed implementing guidelines that are developed with local stakeholders.
Highlights
Payment for environmental services (PES) is a voluntary transaction where a well-defined environmental service is bought by a buyer only if the provider ensures the delivery of a specific service (Wunder et al, 2008)
The study was undertaken by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Vietnam through the ‘Rewards for Use of and Shared Investment for Pro-poor Environmental Services’ (RUPES) project in collaboration with the Pro-Poor Partnerships for Agroforestry Development (3PAD) project, which are both funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
The Basin hosts an array of forest resources, which are important for tourism and hydropower generation, and to the integrity of Ba Be National Park--a world Ramsar site
Summary
Payment for environmental services (PES) is a voluntary transaction where a well-defined environmental service (e.g. buffering water flows, carbon sequestration, etc.) is bought by a buyer (people who benefit from its provision) only if the provider (local landholders or residents) ensures the delivery of a specific service (Wunder et al, 2008). In 2008, the Government of Vietnam passed Decision 380, which piloted the implementation of Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) in Son La and Lam Dong provinces for a two-year period (2008-2010). Applying the K-factor in the design of PFES schemes in different areas, has been challenging ─ complexity and impracticalities were usual complains about the K-factor. It appeared that site-specific variations in forest conditions could not be unanimously addressed by the K-factor. This paper discusses the proposed application of K-factor and a PFES scheme for the Ta Leng or Leng River Basin, Bac Kan province, in the northeast region of Vietnam.
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