Payments For Environmental Services Research Articles

AGROFORESTRY TREE DENSITY ESTIMATION BASED ON HEMISPHERICAL PHOTOS & LANDSAT 8 OLI/TIRS IMAGE: A CASE STUDY AT CIDANAU WATERSHED, BANTEN-INDONESIA

Abstract. The Cidanau watershed is the only watershed in Indonesia that implements Payment for Environmental Services (PES) for farmers who can maintain tree/stand density of 500 trees/hectare on their land. Payments are made upon the verification on the field by the project supervisor. This method requires a lot of time and costly, so it is necessary to build more efficient indirect methods, including using satellite imagery or camera data. The aim of this study is to understand Landsat OLI 8 and hemispherical photo can estimate tree density in the farmer’s agroforestry stand. To obtain tree density, the number of trees with diameter more than 10 cm in 50 plots (50 m x 50 m) were counted. Some predictor variables were utilized, such as Leaf Area Index (LAI) based on hemispherical photos, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Forest Cover Density (FCD), as well as NDVI and FCD which were enhanced with topographic correction. The imagery used was Landsat 8 OLI acquired on July 5, 2015, with Path/Row 123/64. The relationship between tree density and predictor variables was done using linear regression analysis. Prior to regression analysis, normality (Kolmogorov Smirnov/K-S), heteroscedasticity (Glejser test) and auto correlation (Durbin Watson) test were performed. The results of the analysis showed that tree density was estimated better with hemispherical photos-based LAI, with determination coefficient of 80.6%. Meanwhile, estimation using NDVI and FCD has lower determination coefficient. Even though, the use of topographic correction had been able to increase the determination coefficient of the regression relationship between tree density and FCD, from 4.64% to 35.18%.

Evaluation of water resource preservation areas in the Hydrographical Basin of Andreas Stream, RS, Brazil, using environmental monitoring programs

This research evaluated the effectiveness of the implementation of water resource preservation areas in the Hydrographical Basin of Andreas Stream, county of Vera Cruz, RS, Brazil, established through Payment for Environmental Services (PES), using an environmental monitoring program to assess physical, chemical and microbiological variables. The PES is linked to the "Water Guardian" project, which aims to ensure the preservation of water resources by paying farmers for providing the environmental services to protect the springs and riparian areas that lie within their properties. Twenty sampling stations were selected for collecting water samples monthly during the period July 2012 to June 2014 (460 samples) to evaluate the following variables: water temperature, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, nitrate, ammonia nitrogen, phosphate, total dissolved solids and thermotolerant coliforms. The evaluation was made based on decree 357/2005 of the National Environmental Council (CONAMA) and by applying the Water Quality Index (WQI). The results indicated a significant improvement in the water quality when comparisons were made between the periods before and after the installation of the preservation areas. The sampling points classified as “good” (CONAMA and WQI), which indicates water of good quality that is appropriate for multiple uses, increased from 52.0% to 72.0%. In this sense, promoting the preservation of headwaters and riparian zones becomes of fundamental importance and highlights the role of PES as an operational tool for water resource preservation.

Experimental evaluation of the impact of a payment for environmental services program on deforestation

Despite calls for greater use of randomized control trials (RCTs) to evaluate the impact of conservation interventions; such experimental evaluations remain extremely rare. Payments for environmental services (PES) are widely used to slow tropical deforestation but there is widespread recognition of the need for better evidence of effectiveness. A Bolivian nongovernmental organization took the unusual step of randomizing the communities where its conservation incentive program (Watershared) was offered. We explore the impact of the program on deforestation over 5 years by applying generalized additive models to Global Forest Change (GFC) data. The “intention‐to‐treat” model (where units are analyzed as randomized regardless of whether the intervention was delivered as planned) shows no effect; deforestation did not differ between the control and treatment communities. However, uptake of the intervention varied across communities so we also explored whether higher uptake might reduce deforestation. We found evidence of a small effect at high uptake but the result should be treated with caution. RCTs will not always be appropriate for evaluating conservation interventions due to ethical and practical considerations. Despite these challenges, randomization can improve causal inference and deserves more attention from those interested in improving the evidence base for conservation.

Understanding PES from the ground up: a combined choice experiment and interview approach to understanding PES in Costa Rica

Payments for environmental services (PES) are part of a suite of market-based conservation mechanisms that have gained international attention for their potential to produce ecosystem services across private landholdings. The Costa Rican government, a PES pioneer, provides landowners with remuneration for conserving forest cover on their properties. The efficiency and effectiveness of PES programs have been critiqued, because little is understood about the ability of payments to alter landowner behavior. Unique to the existent literature, we combine data from semi-structured interviews with an economic nonmarket valuation technique, the stated choice experiment, to explore preferences for PES and the impact of PES on decision making in the mixed-use Bellbird Biological Corridor of Costa Rica. The choice experiment reveals farmer preferences for PES, while interviews provide context for the choice experiment results and illuminate the implications for policy. Results show that farmer objections to PES design and program implementation influence willingness to accept payments for conservation efforts. Results further indicate that a significant share of farmers in the study area are resistant to the PES program irrespective of competitive payments offered. We suggest that this overall resistance to the program is a key driver of program inefficiency. We further suggest that potential program improvements require better engagement with multifaceted landowner values, and that PES may not constitute an effective mechanism for engaging small-scale farmers in conservation.

A market-based mechanism as an alternative solution for watershed management: a case study of the Ciliwung Watershed, Indonesia

The complexity of managing the Ciliwung Watershed in Indonesia has resulted in various externalities such as flooding in the capital city of Jakarta. A non-structural approach using a market-based instrument such as a payment for environmental services (PES) scheme could be considered an alternative policy to overcome such externalities. A compensation mechanism is expected to induce incentives to conserve the watershed in the upstream area with the goal of reducing flooding downstream. This study attempts to determine the amount of compensation that should be paid by the governmental agency in Jakarta to upstream communities to maintain and improve the quality of the watershed area. The contingent valuation method (CVM) was used to obtain the households' willingness to pay (WTP) as a basis for compensation. Lessons learned concern watershed management and the implications of using the PES scheme.

Beyond PES and REDD+: Costa Rica on the way to climate-smart landscape management?

Costa Rica has a strong international reputation for conservation and sustainable management of forests, including through its national payments for environmental services (PES) system and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). However, to be able to take those achievements to the next level, new approaches need to be developed that integrate agriculture and environmental politics, e.g., to foster climate-smart landscape management. This would be in line with the idea of a green transformation as a necessary contribution to bring human social-ecological action back within planetary boundaries. We start from a general conceptualization of a green transformation and its potential drivers, then analyze the basis and prospects for such developments by providing a review of the country’s forest politics, including a mapping of relevant stakeholders that have been influential in designing and implementing the national PES and REDD+ approaches. Based on original empirical analysis that was conducted throughout 2017, we further analyze recent institutional developments of setting up a cross-sectoral policy for agriculture and environment as part of a broader landscape management approach, including the opportunities and challenges that might arise with a view to realizing this idea on the ground.

A market-based mechanism as an alternative solution for watershed management: a case study of the Ciliwung Watershed, Indonesia

The complexity of managing the Ciliwung Watershed in Indonesia has resulted in various externalities such as flooding in the capital city of Jakarta. A non-structural approach using a market-based instrument such as a payment for environmental services (PES) scheme could be considered an alternative policy to overcome such externalities. A compensation mechanism is expected to induce incentives to conserve the watershed in the upstream area with the goal of reducing flooding downstream. This study attempts to determine the amount of compensation that should be paid by the governmental agency in Jakarta to upstream communities to maintain and improve the quality of the watershed area. The contingent valuation method (CVM) was used to obtain the households' willingness to pay (WTP) as a basis for compensation. Lessons learned concern watershed management and the implications of using the PES scheme.

Zones with Potential for the Payment of Environmental Services in the Valle del Mezquital, Hidalgo

The arid regions in Mexico are excluded from the benefits of the Payment for Environmental Services (PES) scheme of the National Forestry Commission, due to the low forest cover they have. The objective of the work is to carry out an identification at the regional level of those potential payment zones for environmental services in the Mezquital Valley, Hidalgo State. The limitation of the arid zone is the main justification for generating proposals as alternatives to try to include these regions in the PSA. The identification of eligible or priority areas for the PSA was based on the methodologies of the Physiographic Survey, to delimit the environmental areas or units and, for the analysis of decision-making, the Multicriteria. Priority areas for payment for environmental services equivalent to 911 ha were identified, with high and very high risk characteristics of losing the ecosystem services provided by the conservation of biodiversity.

Sustainable urban development through a blue and green network approach focusing the protection of water resources: the case of the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region, in Brazil

This paper explores the potentialities offered by blue-green approaches to promote protection of water resources at metropolitan scale and to contribute to structuring territorial development. An on-going experience of regional planning and land use regulation in the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region (BHMR), in Brazil, is here a reference. With a population of 5.8 million inhabitants and territory of 10,000 km2, the BHMR offers a rich example of land use diversity that highlights the complexity of metropolitan territorial planning and management. In the first part of the paper, blue-green concepts are developed emphasising their role for the protection of water resources. This is followed by the methods and results of applying these concepts to the BHMR. We then evaluate whether blue-green approaches are sufficient to protect water resources and discuss the potentialities of additional tools such as the payment for environmental services with the same objectives.

Capacity Development and Payment of Environmental Services (Study in Surakarta City, Indonesia)

Capacity Development and Payment of Environmental Services (Study in Surakarta City, Indonesia)

PAYMENT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES: GUIDELINES FOR IDENTIFYING PRIORITY AREAS FOCUSING ON BIODIVERSITY*

Abstract The economic tool of Payment for Environmental Services (PES) has been considered as an alternative for the conservation of the biodiversity and ecosystem services in private lands. To guide decision makers in implementing PES schemes, this paper aimed to identify in the scientific literature the important elements to prioritize areas in the implementation of PES-biodiversity schemes. It is claimed that the elements extracted from PES-biodiversity schemes must be used as a reference to guide the implementation of other PES schemes based on the recovery and maintenance of natural areas (e.g. water, carbon, environmental aesthetics conditions). Thus, the sustainability of PES schemes can be guaranteed over time.

Gendered spaces of payment for environmental services: A critical look

This article investigates the paradoxical outcomes of a mechanism to promote women's participation in payment for ecosystem services (). Focusing specifically on the Legal Representative position, I examine how gendered and generational power dynamics become reinscribed through this position and the various ways that this position is conceptualized, performed, and negotiated. To do this, I combine theoretical insights from feminist theories of subjectivity, political ecology, and forest governance with empirical evidence from a small case study of in Jalisco, Mexico. I find that the subjectivity of women within the case study both produce and are produced by gendered and generational differences that simultaneously both challenge and also maintain social‐spatial exclusions. Although this study is limited by its focus on the Legal Representative and a small sample size, such a focused case study sheds light on the social and spatial ways in which runs the risk of exacerbating already existing inequities.

Payment for environmental service of conservation in Cokro Tulung spring, Klaten regency, Indonesia

This study aims to: (1) determine the conservation of water resources willingness to pay (WTP) of the community, (2) determine the determinants that significantly affect the value of PAPs for additional benefits due to increase management of water resources conservation, and (3) determine whether reforestation environment is a type of conservation that community desires. Respondents from this study are Surakarta citizens, precisely in the southern region of Surakarta, Laweyan District, Central Java. They are customers of Surakarta Municipal Water Supply Company, especially the water distribution of the Cokro Tulung spring. This study uses linear analysis and Contingent Valuation Method (CVM). The interviews result with 106 respondents revealed that: (1) the average value of WTP in R2 is Rp 1,872,-, the average value of WTP in R3 is Rp 3,238,-, the average value of WTP in R4 is Rp 2,769,-, and the average value of WTP in trade group 1 is Rp 3,846,-, (2) education variables and perception variables on the importance of conservation have a significant effect on WTP of conservation of water resources, and (3) survey results show that there are 73.6% of respondents intend to do greening around Cokro Tulung spring.

Tackling fragmentation of climate and biodiversity regimes complexes: the role ecosystem services and payment for environmental services : the role ecosystem services and payment for environmental services

In the realm of global governance, fragmentation is a recognized and recurrent feature and the multiple causalities underlying global governance issues along with their often cross-sectoral and cross-scale dynamics constitute major driving forces for fragmented governance. The article aims to identify the interactions between the elements of two regime complexes: climate and biodiversity. We argue that despite the different structuration and history of climate and biodiversity regime complexes, the notion of Ecosystem services, in developing specific policy instruments such as payments for environmental services, contributes to the synergy of these two complexes regimes. Indeed, ES concept has been an “integrative” and “bridging” concept that facilitated the creation of linkages between climate and biodiversity regimes complexes. First, the diffusion of the ecosystem services concept has been possible though bringing organizations involved in both regimes complexes. Second, the market based instruments for ecosystem services and biodiversity, especially payment for environmental services has been the operational setting that enables to create at national and/or local scales the operational synergies between both issues and regimes. Payment for environmental services can achieve jointly biodiversity conservation and some mitigation and adaptation objective.

Factors Affecting Inn Operators’ Willingness to Pay Resource Protection Fees: A Case of Erhai Lake in China

Willingness to pay (WTP) is a foundation of payment for environmental services (PES) and varies according to different stakeholders. Because of its high-quality environment, numerous inns have appeared around Erhai Lake, which has become the inn sector leader in China. Declining water quality of the lake contrasts sharply with the increasing number of inns, thus a policy that balances economic development and water protection is needed desperately. The Erhai Lake Resource Protection Fee (ELRPF) is a form of PES, constructed on the basis of the contingent value method (CVM) involving the relationship between perceived benefits, institutional trust, awareness, and supportive attitude. Using relevant data obtained from a survey questionnaire, SmartPls 3.0 software was used to analyze the factors influencing inn operators’ WTP. The results of the analysis of 307 questionnaires showed that institutional trust, PES cognition, and attitudes toward support significantly affected inn operators’ WTP, while perceived benefit did not. This result differs from results of research on other tourism stakeholders. The reasons for this difference might be the specific identity of operators, their cultural and place identity, ability and professional education, and complexities of the broker of ecosystem services.

Increasing Conservation Efficiency While Maintaining Distributive Goals With the Payment for Environmental Services

A key challenge in designing Payment for Environmental Services (PES) programs is to balance conservation efficiency with equity where, typically, decision makers do not have practical and quantitative tools to consider the possible trade-offs. Here, we propose a policy-relevant and implementable ‘win-settle’ model that allows PES decision makers to maximize efficiency while considering the distributive equity associated with beneficiary payments. To demonstrate our approach, we calibrate the model to a current PES program in Vietnam that has one of the world's most comprehensive and self-sustained payment schemes for forest conservation. The results indicate that our approach could generate a substantial improvement relative to current methods. In other words, for the same expenditure and identical horizontal equity in payments to beneficiaries, more forest could be conserved, and with a lower administrative burden.

Recent finance advances in information technology for inclusive development: a systematic review

The overarching question tackled in this paper is: to what degree has financial development contributed to providing opportunities of human development for those on low-incomes and by which information technology mechanisms? We systematically review about 180 recently published papers to provide recent information technology advances in finance for inclusive development. Retained financial innovations are structured along three themes. They are: (i) the rural-urban divide, (ii) women empowerment and (iii) human capital in terms of skills and training. The financial instruments are articulated with case studies, innovations and investment strategies with particular emphasis, inter alia on: informal finance, microfinance, mobile banking, crowdfunding, microinsurance, Islamic finance, remittances, Payment for Environmental Services (PES) and the Diaspora Investment in Agriculture (DIA) initiative.

Zero Deforestation Agreement Assessment at Farm Level in Colombia Using ALOS PALSAR

Due to the fast deforestation rates in the tropics, multiple international efforts have been launched to reduce deforestation and develop consistent methodologies to assess forest extension and change. Since 2010 Colombia implemented the Mainstream Sustainable Cattle Ranching project with the participation of small farmers in a payment for environmental services (PES) scheme where zero deforestation agreements are signed. To assess the fulfillment of such agreements at farm level, ALOS-1 and ALOS-2 PALSAR fine beam dual imagery for years 2010 and 2016 was processed with ad-hoc routines to estimate stable forest, deforestation, and stable nonforest extension for 2615 participant farms in five heterogeneous regions of Colombia. Landsat VNIR imagery was integrated in the processing chain to reduce classification uncertainties due to radar limitations. Farms associated with Meta Foothills regions showed zero deforestation during the period analyzed (2010–2016), while other regions showed low deforestation rates with the exception of the Cesar River Valley (75 ha). Results, suggests that topography and dry weather conditions have an effect on radar-based mapping accuracy, i.e., deforestation and forest classes showed lower user accuracy values on mountainous and dry regions revealing overestimations in these environments. Nevertheless, overall ALOS Phased Array L-band SAR (PALSAR) data provided overall accurate, relevant, and consistent information for forest change analysis for local zero deforestation agreements assessment. Improvements to preprocessing routines and integration of high dense radar time series should be further investigated to reduce classification errors from complex topography conditions.

El medio ambiente sostenible de la mano del desarrollo económico

El desarrollo económico de una nación está claramente determinado por un manejo efectivo de sus recursos para la producción, desarrollo y crecimiento y por lo tanto asociamos que el progreso de uno afecta el avance del otro.Las investigaciones científicas nos demuestran además, que el calentamiento global ha sido causado por el afán por las riquezas de las industrias, por lo que es perentorio que los gobiernos incluyan políticas de acción y preservación, claras y universales para cualquier nación, sin dejar de involucrarnos personalmente en nuestro accionar en materia de competitividad y consumismo. La República Dominicana con un desarrollo económico en continuo crecimiento, ha establecido dentro de sus políticas de desarrollo acciones que fomenten el consumo sostenible y que promuevan la conservación de nuestros recursos naturales asegurando de esta manera la continuidad de esta evolución y sobre todo estableciendo los lineamientos para que las nuevas industrias y la generación entrante, tengan un soporte estructural sostenido en todos los renglones que afectan el buen desarrollo de esta isla. Al menos en teoría, la Republica Dominicana está a la vanguardia de las tendencias globales con políticas públicas enfocadas al desarrollo sostenible. Para mencionar algunos casos recientes la constitución de 2010 incluye e incorpora premisas importantes para el tema ambiental, la creación del Consejo Nacional para el Cambio Climático y el Mecanismo de Desarrollo Limpio, la estrategia nacional de desarrollo 2030, la Ley de Bioseguridad 219-15 y la Ley de Biodiversidad 333-15, y algunos proyectos de Ley como Pagos por Servicios Ambientales y la Ley de Agua que actualmente cursan los estamentos legislativos dominicanos. Sin embargo, es pertinente que este desarrollo sostenible se alimente con una realidad que debemos incorporar, una perspectiva a largo plazo que apuntale al manejo de estos recursos y que enfatiza en la solidaridad hacia las actuales y futuras generaciones defendiendo la equidad intergeneracional.

Possibility of Harnessing Social Capital to Support the Development of Payment for Environmental Services in Small-Scale Forests: A Case of Jatigede Catchment Area

The concept of social capital has gained attention as a source of support in implementing Payment for Environmental Services (PES). Environmental services, in the context of better water yields in watersheds, is affected by good land cover conditions of forests including small-scale private owned forests. Although some research results indicate that private owned forests are more economic oriented than environmental functions, but its existing social capital can be harnessed to implement PES in small-scale forests. The aim of this study was to analyze the potential of social capital as a source of support in the implementation of PES. The research was conducted by survey method. This research revealeds that the level of trust in local community leaders is very high. This role models can be an key entry point for realizing the PES scheme by strengthening the common knowledge of environmental benefits of small-scale forests and strengthen community norms related to the protection of water resources. Leadership and networking capabilities of the community institution leader give a real influence in collaboration between groups.