Payments For Ecosystem Services Implementation Research Articles

Payment for ecosystem services and motivational crowding: Experimental insights regarding the integration of plural values via non-monetary incentives

Incentives based on extrinsic motivations such as Payments for ecosystem Services (PES) could negatively affect intrinsic motivations (i.e., motivational crowding-out). This effect may be evidenced when conservation levels, after PES intervention, decline relative to those existing before PES implementation. However, still few experimental studies have assessed PES effects on motivations once economic incentives are missing. Moreover, experimental research still lacks insights on PES designs that may reduce the risk of motivational crowding-out. This paper aims to assess the post-intervention effects of integrating plural values via non-monetary incentives (i.e. environmental awareness, social recognition) into PES design. We conducted a lab-in-the-field experiment followed by a questionnaire involving 120 participants in rural Cali, Colombia. We use non-parametric and Differences in Differences regression analysis to show that integrating plural values (intrinsic and relational) via non-monetary incentives may have a long-lasting effect on conservation (motivational crowding-in) in comparison with a PES alone. We did not find strong evidence of PES motivational crowding-out. We conclude that PES effectiveness and equity-related outcomes could be fostered by integrating the multiple ways of knowing, relating and caring for Nature.

Assessing Socio-Economic Factors Affecting the Implementation of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) Mechanism

The Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) mechanism has been pursued as a means to provide incentives for achieving conservation goals while also promoting rural development by alleviating poverty. However, the degree to which these goals are met depends on the implementation of the programs, which depends on the desirability and accessibility of programs targeting rural communities. Understanding the factors motivating or dissuading PES is vital for successful implementation. This paper evaluated the determinants of locals’ preference for PES implementation in the Begnas Lake Watershed. We interviewed 180 residents representing upstream and downstream. Factors such as income, the distance between house and lake, knowledge about PES, education, and duration of living in the area significantly determined locals’ attitude towards PES implementation. Their decision to take a stake in the PES program, if implemented, was influenced by income, family size, the distance between house and lake, education, and knowledge about PES. The majority of the household prefer community forestry as an institution and indirect payment as a compensation mechanism. The study suggests that the implementation of PES can contribute to uplifting the livelihood of local communities and conservation of Begnas lake watershed. The study further recommends the involvement of multi-stakeholders for ground-level awareness.

Assessment of Residents' Understanding of Potential Ecosystem Services of Phewa Watershed


 
 
 Phewa watershed, the second largest natural lake system in Nepal, is considered vital for the well being and economy at local, provincial and national level. Phewa watershed offers multiple benefits to the downstream dwellers involved in tourism, hotel, boating, fishing, irrigation, hydropower, etc. The constant degradation of watershed has become a serious challenge to sustain the watershed. Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) can be an effective environmental management tool for sustaining ecological and economic benefits, especially in an urban watershed like Phewa. This study has assessed the opportunities for the potentialityof PES in Phewa watershed. It first identified and ranked the tradable ecosystem services along with service providers and beneficiaries using Likert scale. Then, 137 households were surveyed to evaluate their perceptions of payment for ecosystem services and sustainable management of Phewa Lake. The results identified tourism as the major ecosystem service in the watershed followed by biodiversity and sediment retention to control flooding and erosion. Protected and community forests users groups within the watershed area, landowners, and farmers were identified as upstream users or service providers whereas the business owners like boat agencies, hotels and restaurants, drinking water users, and Nepal electricity authority were identifiedas the service beneficiaries of the identified ecosystem service. The challenges associated with implementing PES scheme were the lack of financial resource, lack of institutional organization and marketing for ecosystem services, population growth, lack of coordination between stakeholders, and lack of public participation. Thus, this study showed that education-based activities should be organized to enhance participation of beneficiaries and upstream dwellers. Also, PES policy mechanism with clear guidelines should be formulated for assuring the participation of the community people forthe implementation of PES.
 
 

An Agent-Based Sustainability Perspective on Payment for Ecosystem Services: Analytical Framework and Empirical Application

Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), a market-based policy instrument for the conservation and environmental management that aims to coordinate the interests of upstream and downstream ecosystem service (ES) stakeholders, has been adopted worldwide. However, the success of PES depends on the desirability of programs targeting rural communities and smallholders. In this article, an agent-based sustainability perspective on PES was proposed and applied to examine a PES case study of the Converting-Orchard-to-Forest (COF) project in Dongjiang Headwater Watershed (DHW). We used household interview-based information and associated secondary data to quantitatively assess the environmental consequences and livelihood impacts of the COF project. The findings show that: (1) the COF participants at the upstream suffered from substantial income loss due to decreased orchard area; (2) the participants’ chemical fertilizer and compound fertilizer consumption was larger than their nonparticipating counterparts; and (3) the COF participants and nonparticipants increased the material assets and reduced their fuelwood use and increased the liquefied petroleum gas. Our findings suggest that, because of the significant income loss experienced by the upstream participants, the COF program is unsustainable with the participants very likely to cultivate the orchard again once the COF project ends. The research provides insightful information regarding PES implementation and sustainability of similar PES schemes.

The importance of community perceptions and capacity building in payment for ecosystems services: A case study at Phu Kao, Thailand

Although payment for ecosystem services (PES) is a globally-recognized mechanism for effective forest protection (e.g., REDD+ for forest carbon), implementation can be challenging, especially on a local level. This study examined community perceptions of and willingness to participate in PES-project development for protection of a watershed forest at Phu Kao (PK) in northeast Thailand. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 404 household representatives from 10 villages in or near PK during 2018 and 2019. Although PES-project development is a new concept at PK, we received positive responses from the villagers. Estimated amounts of willingness to pay (WTP, n = 204) were smaller than willingness to accept (WTA, n = 200). Income constraint was the main factor limiting WTP, followed by perceptions that forest protection was the government's responsibility, and lack of understanding/trust on PES implementation. Meanwhile, benefit reduction, especially food sources and income generated from non-timber forest products, hindered WTA. PES-development, at least in the early stages, requires a proper balance of technical expertise, governmental intervention, and long-term commitment from relevant stakeholders. Project failure is likely without a good understanding of community perceptions and capacity building.

Designing a payment for ecosystem services scheme, the practical obstacles for implementation in arid and semiarid rangelands

Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes are an innovative solution to reduce environmental degradation. However, most existing experience with PES implementation is related to the agricultural, forestry and marine sectors, and the application of PES in rangelands is limited. Although a PES could be an option to reduce rangeland degradation, there is no specific framework or experience for its implementation in Iran. Financial resources for funding the scheme are important, although funding by itself is not sufficient, and details are important in designing a successful PES system. This study aimed to design and introduce the framework of a PES scheme based on field surveys, information collection and analysis emphasising soil and water conservation functions, and identification and discussion of the challenges and obstacles facing implementation of the designed framework. After delineating the vegetation types on rangeland ecosystems, their current ecological condition was considered the baseline, and minimum and maximum payments were considered, equal to the livestock reduction compensation and the total value of the increased ecosystem services as a result of PES implementation respectively. Results suggest designing the practical steps of PES schemes is complicated despite the concept’s simplicity, and a lack of clear property rights can increase complexity and multiply the costs. Considering different socioeconomic and ecological contexts, and the detailed framework in all the processes of identification and investigation, development, pilot testing, and project operation can increase the effectiveness of PES schemes. Our findings appear useful for policy-making to balance utilisation pressure in natural areas, not only in Iran, but also in many arid and semiarid rangelands elsewhere.

Mechanisms behind concurrent payments for ecosystem services in a Chinese nature reserve

Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) seek to protect important ecosystems and related ecosystem services while increasing (or maintaining) human wellbeing by paying resource users directly to change their land and resource use behavior. To increase understanding of socio-economic aspects of PES, this study collected data from households to identify variables that may influence Chinese villagers’ decisions to enroll land in a PES program, the Grain-to-Green Program (GTGP), in the context of simultaneous participation in another PES, the Forest Ecological Benefit Compensation Fund (FEBC). Previous studies identified a baseline of relevant variables, which we use as control variables. Secondary to this, we explore how hypothetical post-participation land use options might promote or deter GTGP participation. In addition to supporting previous findings regarding the role of control variables, our results generated through regression analysis suggest a negative relationship between GTGP enrollment and FEBC participation. We find that villagers view retiring land from crops to plant ecological trees through GTGP as undesirable under current compensation scenarios. Through exploring latent mechanisms underlying PES enrollment in concurrent PES programs, this research provides new insight about PES effectiveness, as well as bases for policy extension, with lessons for design and implementation of PES in China and globally.

Payment for ecosystem services programs in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: Effective but not enough

Payment for ecosystem services (PES) are economic incentives intended to generate conservation benefits, principally on private properties. The global portfolio of PES programs is estimated to represent an annual investment of more than USD $36 billion. Despite this substantial investment, the continued lack of systematic and rigorous impact evaluation of PES has contributed to uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of this tool for conservation. Here, we assessed the ability of two watershed PES programs to promote native forest conservation in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Those two focal programs are among the most well-established PES programs in Brazil, and form part of a larger network of PES programs intended to protect the drinking water supply of over 19 million people in the São Paulo metropolitan region. Using a counterfactual approach, we examined if enrollment in a PES program contributed to the conservation of on-farm native forest cover. With propensity score matching, we identified a set of neighboring, non-enrolled ‘control’ properties, with similar size, altitude, soil type, demographic density, presence of water sources and forest cover. We then estimated forest cover on enrolled and control properties before and after PES implementation with a differences-in-differences method, modeled as the probability of an observed change in on-farm forest area as a consequence of PES enrollment. We found that PES has a positive effect on forest cover, with PES enrollment over a five-year period associated with an additional 2.8–5.6% of farm area coverage in native Atlantic Forest, through forest regeneration. PES enrollment was associated with a non-significant trend toward decreased loss of vegetation. We discuss the implications of these results for understanding the contribution of PES to additionality in forest conservation. While positive, the relatively slow impact of PES on forest regeneration suggests that environmental managers should not count exclusively on PES mechanism to achieve conservation goals.

Different ecosystem services, same (dis)satisfaction with compensation: A critical comparison between farmers’ perception in Scotland and Brazil

Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes have increasingly expanded to consider ecosystem services (ESS). In Brazil, the Forest Code permits PES but does not specify the scheme operationalization. The way ESS should be quantified and valued has not yet been implemented country-wide, nor has the funding source for PES. Through interviews with farmers in Rio Claro-SP, Brazil, and in Cairngorms National Park in the highlands and lowlands of Scotland, UK, we compared farmers’ perspectives concerning ESS and PES, focusing on the PES implementation in sugarcane landscape in São Paulo state. While Scottish farmers perceived more cultural services, Brazilian farmers focused on regulating services, which we attribute to socio-political and landscape differences. Despite these differences, farmers in both areas preferred opportunity cost approach for ESS valuation because this method captures efforts to maintain ESS. Thereby, the opportunity cost should be considered for valuation in PES schemes, but conversely, budgetary constraints make it impossible to satisfy farmers with PES in regions of high productivity in the southeast of Brazil. Lessons learned concerning the PES subsidies in Scotland indicates the importance of co-designing schemes with stakeholders, minimizing trade-offs between the environment. Therefore, the participants as ESS providers, beneficiaries and intermediaries in the public policies arena was recognized for co-optimize the trade-offs between costs and effectiveness in PES.

Operationalizing payments for ecosystem services in Brazil's sugarcane belt: How do stakeholder opinions match with successful cases in Latin America?

In this paper the initial draft design of a payment for ecosystem services (PES) scheme in a municipality within the sugarcane belt of São Paulo state, Brazil (PES-RC), is compared with prevailing characteristics of successful PES cases in Latin America (PES-LA). This systematic comparison is performed by analyzing four major characteristics of PES: identity of traded ecosystem service (ES); spatial scale; type of transaction involved between ES providers and beneficiaries; and the involved actors. Information on the biophysical characteristics, institutional arrangement and financial options of PES-RC were assessed using participatory methods. We found that on the one hand there is an agreement between our case study and the prevailing successful cases of PES-LA regarding the traded ES (water) and the PES spatial scale (local). However, stakeholder opinions diverge from the success cases when it comes to the type of transaction (cash preferred in PES-RC; in-kind in successful PES-LA) and the involved actors. Our results raise the question whether stakeholder opinions or the characteristics of successful (or failure) cases should be prioritized when planning and operationalizing new PES schemes. We argue that stakeholder participation should be considered as an additional success criterion for the construction of public policies directed towards PES implementation.

Governing a pioneer program on payment for watershed services: Stakeholder involvement, legal frameworks and early lessons from the Atlantic forest of Brazil

Increasing acceptance of payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs as environmental policy alternatives suggests a clear need for research on PES implementation, both to validate theoretical frameworks and improve approaches for existing and future programs. We provide a history of the 10-year old Conservador das Águas program in Extrema, a city in Minas Gerais located within the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. To date, the program has coordinated restoration activities that have increased native forest cover in 60% in targeted sub-watershed through contracts with 53 landowners, and has established long-term collaborations among government agencies, civil society, and landowners. Evaluation of the institutional elements of the program using an institutional framework reveals lessons that are relevant for future projects. We find that national legislation and local government organizations have played key roles in enabling and maintaining program activities. Further, strategic decisions by program staff, including targeting important regions and actors within the municipality, the use of Forest Code mandates as an incentive for participation, and use of municipal legislation to secure funding, were critical to the program's success. We use an institutional framework to provide a review of the program, including its legal context, actors, and financial instruments, for those engaged in establishing and sustaining similar programs.

“We are the city lungs”: Payments for ecosystem services in the outskirts of Mexico City

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) have emerged as an incentive-based policy instrument to manage and secure the flow of ecosystem services for human wellbeing. PES implementation has been mostly examined in rural areas but very few studies have paid attention to experiences in rural–urban landscapes that provide critical ecosystem services for densely populated areas. Informed by household surveys and focus groups, we analyze the implementation of Mexico's federal program of Payments for Watershed Services (PSAH in Spanish) in two communities located in the rural–urban fringe of Mexico City, paying attention to landowners’ dependence on ecosystem services and both perceived benefits and costs of participating in the PSAH program. We demonstrate that landowners are generally aware of the critical services they provide to the city and beyond but there is a skewed level of knowledge regarding the program objectives and an uneven sharing of its benefits. The latter is influenced by collective organization and environmental history, with higher knowledge and more equitable benefit sharing present in the community with a more long-standing commitment to forest conservation. The PSAH incentive contributes to household income but it is clearly insufficient to motivate strong family and collective action towards halting land-use change beyond the PSAH targeted area. We thus argue that conservation policy in urban–rural fringes needs to be accompanied by effective land-use planning at regional level. This should involve multiple stakeholders and the re-conceptualization of Mexico City surrounding agricultural lands and forests as spaces to be governed for the provision of ecosystem services rather than as areas over which the city can expand.

Unequal Access to Payments for Ecosystem Services: The Case of Costa Rica

ABSTRACTUsing Costa Rica's experience with its payments for ecosystem services (PES) programme, this article examines how and why some groups come to be excluded from participating in the programme. It demonstrates that Costa Rica's PES programme results in payments that generally go to larger landowners and tend to exclude certain kinds of smallholders, and that these patterns occur despite concerted state efforts to include the rural poor. The author argues that access exclusions found in PES are the result of historical patterns of agrarian settlement interacting with the state's inability to recognize certain forms of property claims in the context of PES, with the latter condition emerging through ongoing efforts to transform the administration of the nation's property regime in ways that will render it more legible to markets. This case study shows the importance of understanding how access restrictions emerge from the complex relations between multiple state institutions and agrarian producers in the implementation of PES.

Herders’ willingness to accept versus the public sector’s willingness to pay for grassland restoration in the Xilingol League of Inner Mongolia, China

This paper describes two payment for ecosystem services (PES) programs to restore grassland ecosystems in Inner Mongolia in Northern China. A key challenge is to sustain the livelihood of local residents, who earn most of their income from traditional animal husbandry. We surveyed 240 herders and 36 government representatives in 2 years. We used contingent valuation and logistic regression to analyze the resulting data. Since the PES implementation, income from cultivation and animal grazing decreased, whereas income from compensation and off-farm activities increased. The herders preferred an annual payment of 625 Chinese yuan (CNY ) ha−1 for participating in conservation activities, but the government prefers to provide 528 CNY ha−1, resulting in an annual gap of 97 CNY ha−1. The current too-low payments may lead some herders to expand their grazing into restricted grassland or increase their number of animals, particularly if either payment program ends. The herders were most concerned about their economic loss, whereas the government considered both grassland restoration and income protection to be important. To create an improved and sustainable PES scheme, we recommend solutions that will let the herders sustain their livelihood while conserving the grasslands. Our findings will help to establish more effective PES schemes for the grasslands of Inner Mongolia and similar regions.