Payments For Environmental Services Research Articles

Heterogeneous Impact of a Collective Payment for Environmental Services Scheme on Reducing Deforestation in Cambodia

Payments for Environmental Services (PES) are increasingly used in tropical countries as incentives to improve forest conservation outcomes, notably in forests managed or owned by rural communities. However, little is known about the performance and the suitable conditions under which collective PES can be effective. We assess the impact of a collective PES on reducing deforestation in the Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia. We use a quasi-experimental approach combining covariate matching with difference-in-difference estimation as a procedure to assess program effectiveness on reducing deforestation. We find that the PES program contributed additionally saving on average about 0.17 percentage point of the enrolled PES area per year during 2005–12. We also highlight that characteristics such as slope, proximity to roads, and number of households are associated with heterogeneous PES impact. We finally call for improving both data availability and impact assessment methods in order to test better theories of change that take into account not only the ability of payments to reduce opportunity costs of conservation but also to consider how PES are turned into improved community collective action likely to improve the local enforcement of conservation.

Farmers' Preferences for PES Contracts to Adopt Silvopastoral Systems in Southern Ecuador, Revealed Through a Choice Experiment.

This study investigates farmers' preferences to participate in payment contracts to adopt silvopastoral systems in Ecuador. A choice experiment was used to elicit preferences between different contract attributes, including differing payment amounts and land management requirements. The research was carried out in the buffer zone of Podocarpus National Park in Southern Ecuador, an area where most land is dedicated to cattle husbandry. A choice experiment was conducted to measure farmers' interest in different types of contracts. Based on existing incentive programs, contract choices varied with respect to the type of silvopastoral system, extra land-use requirements, payment levels and contract duration. In addition, contracts differed with regards to access by cattle to streams. Although the farmers did not show strong preferences for every contract attribute, the majority of farmers in the area showed interest in the proposed contracts. A latent class model identified three classes of respondents, based on their preferences for different contracts attributes or the "business as usual" option. The results suggest that farmland area, agricultural income, and landowners' perceptions of environmental problems provide a partial explanation for the heterogeneity observed in the choices for specific contracts. Participation might increase if contracts were targeted at specific groups of farmers, such as those identified through our latent class model. Offering flexible contracts with varying additional requirements within the same scheme, involving farmers from the start in payments for environmental services design, and combining payments for environmental services with integrated conservation and development projects may be a better way to convince more farmers to adopt silvopastoral systems.

How Funding Source Influences the Form of REDD + Initiatives: The Case of Market Versus Public Funds in Brazil

The Mechanism to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), which is being implemented by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is considered essential to provide economic incentives for the adoption of forest-based mitigation measures against global climate change. This article analyses the key characteristics of REDD+ pilot initiatives in Brazil from different perspectives concerning the concept of payment for environmental services, while exploring how these characteristics relate to the funding models adopted, regardless of whether they are sourced from public funds or via the carbon market. Data collected from publicly available databases are analysed using hypothesis tests. Ten variables from 89 pilot initiatives approved by the Voluntary Carbon Market or the Fundo Amazônia (Amazon Fund) are examined. Findings show that initiatives under each funding model have distinct characteristics in terms of stakeholders, criteria for incentive concession, time frames, geographical reach, as well as Measurement, Report and Verification (MRV) practices. Differences are consistent with distinct theoretical conceptions on incentive-based economic instruments.

Learning from REDD+: a response to Fletcher et al.

Although REDD+ is approaching its 10th anniversary, major impacts in terms of reduced forest loss are hard to document. Conservation practitioners and scholars are therefore increasingly asking why REDD+ has not delivered more tangible results. A recent Comment in Conservation Biology by Fletcher et al. (2016) addresses this question. We agree with Fletcher et al. that REDD+ has been hyped in some circles, which has created unrealistic expectations among policy makers and forest dwellers alike. Yet, we argue that Fletcher et al. put forward an incomplete interpretation of the evolving REDD+ concept and practice and wrongly place the responsibility for lack of progress on the principles of payment for environmental services (PES) and on reliance on market-based instruments (MBIs), in part based on their misunderstanding of the PES concept.Potential answers to the question of why REDD+ has not delivered more tangible results fall into 4 categories: REDD+ has not yet been implemented at the scale needed to make a difference, REDD+ has evolved from the initial PES vision to a modified version of previous and largely ineffective conservation efforts, REDD+ has been blocked by powerful actors interested in maintaining the status quo, and REDD+ is conceptually flawed in its design as a PES and MBI scheme. Fletcher et al. fail to fully appreciate the first 3 problems, overemphasize the presumed flaws in REDD+ as a PES design, and prepare the ground for the rise and fall of the next conservation fad (Redford et al. 2013). We believe that REDD+, although troubled, is not dead.

An evolutionary modeling approach for designing a contractual REDD+ payment scheme

Economic development and sustainable ecological and environmental development generally target different goals, and there are trade-offs and game-like behaviors between implementers and donors in reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+) program. This paper analyzed the effects of evolutionary behaviors of REDD+ implementers and donors with respect to environmental service payments. Within a theoretical analysis framework, the evolutionary stable strategies of the implementers and donors under different contractual payments for ecosystem services (PES) scenarios are analyzed to explore contractual REDD+ payments through evolutionary game models. On this basis, anon-parametric local regression approach is used to analyze arrange of market-based contractual PES schemes in five REDD+ countries (Congo, Brazil, Ecuador, Nepal and Uganda). The results show the following: First, when the opportunity costs are less than the environmental benefits, some middle and high income developing countries are sufficiently incentivized to conserve forests, even without formal contractual PES scheme. This conservation occurs regardless of whether the industrialized countries will pay for the ecosystem services. Second, when the opportunity costs are greater than the environmental benefits, developing countries will generally not take the initiative to conserve forests when industrialized countries do not pay for the associated ecosystem services. Third, when there are enough contractual PES fines, developing countries will conserve forests, and the industrialized countries will pay for the ecosystem services. Finally, contractual PES fines are related to the costs of reducing emissions. Nepal has the largest marginal effect, and Uganda has the smallest. These results have implications for REDD+ program design and implementation: market-based contractual PES scheme should be given priority to regulate behavior of industrialized countries and developing countries in the PES scheme. Developing a targeted and differentiated contractual PES scheme requires an accounting of emission reduction costs in different countries.

The Effectiveness of Payments for Environmental Services

We adopt a theory-based approach to synthesize research on the effectiveness of payments for environmental services in achieving environmental objectives and socio-economic co-benefits in varying contexts. Our theory of change builds on established conceptual models of impact pathways and highlights the role of (1) contextual dimensions (e.g., political, institutional, and socio-economic conditions, spatial heterogeneity in environmental service values and provision costs, and interactions with pre-existing policies), and (2) scheme design (e.g., payment type and level, contract length, targeting, and differentiation of payments) in determining environmental and socio-economic outcomes. To shed light on the overall effectiveness of payment schemes, and its determinants, we review counterfactual-based empirical evaluations, comparative analyses of case-studies, and meta-analyses. Our review suggests that program effectiveness often lags behind the expectations of early theorists. However, we also find that theory has advanced sufficiently to identify common reasons for why payment schemes fail or succeed. Moreover, payment schemes are often rolled out along with other policy instruments in so-called policy mixes. Advances in theory and evaluation research are needed to improve our understanding of how such policy mixes interact with the targeted social-ecological systems. © 2017

When the Implementation of Payments for Biodiversity Conservation Leads to Motivation Crowding-out: A Case Study From the Cardamoms Forests, Cambodia

Payments for Environmental Services (PES) implemented in forest-dependent subsistence-based economies can involve significant restrictions on the traditional use of forest resources. This implies changes in human-nature relations that affect the way people relate to forests, including their perception of why the forest is valuable. Such effect is scientifically relevant since the way people perceive forest values might influence their motivations to implement conservation practices. In this paper, we estimate the impact of a Cambodian PES scheme designed to conserve biodiversity on the perception of forest values and assess the correlation between specific perceived values and conservation behaviors. We conducted a household survey with PES participants (N=205) and with non-participants living in control villages selected with propensity-score matching (N=120). Our results show that the program had a significant impact on the perceived forest values, which changed from subsistence-related to money-related values. Our results suggest that these changes have consequences on the program long-term effectiveness, as individuals emphasizing money-related values reported significantly more frequently that they would break conservation rules after an eventual end of payments. We conclude that the PES program changed the way local populations relate to nature, following the pattern of motivation crowding-out described in the social psychology literature.

Comparison of land use change in payments for environmental services and National Biological Corridor Programs

Costa Rica established the National Biological Corridor Program in 2006. Under the National Biological Corridor Program, the long-running Payment for Environmental Services Program was newly prioritized into biological corridors throughout the country. The National Biological Corridor Program caused a nationwide spatial shift in placement of payments for environmental services throughout Costa Rica. We classified ASTER 15-m resolution imagery in a central Costa Rica corridor connecting the eastern and western protected areas networks to analyze the change in forests during the National Biological Corridor Program with its targeted payments for environmental services effort. We used object-based classification methods, and compared land cover changes over an initial four-year period of corridor policy enactment. We calculated the changes within PES properties and outside of PES regions, and we also calculated forest patch metrics during the same time period. Results indicate a decline in forest cover over the study period, along with an increase in urban and pasture land covers, with higher change and loss of forest centered inside of the biological corridor, near the construction area for the new San Carlos highway, and within eastern pasture areas. We also saw a higher percentage of forest loss inside of the biological corridor area as compared to areas outside of the biological corridor. Forest loss was drastically less within current and historic PES properties, as compared to the overall study region. Across the entire study region, patch metrics show a decrease in the number of patches and a slight decrease in average patch size. These results suggest that current and past designation of PES prevents forest loss within PES properties while the current designation of priority conservation status via the National Biological Corridor Program is not increasing connectivity and forest conservation. This is shown by increased land use change and a decrease in forest associated with biological corridor designation. These results are antithetical to the goals of the National Biological Corridor Program.

The leakage and livelihood impacts of PES contracts: A targeting experiment in Malawi

Most evaluations of payments for environmental services programs focus on immediate environmental impacts, and do not measure the effects on socioeconomic outcomes or on other land use activities (leakage). Efficient allocation of land use contracts, through auctions for example, may help mitigate concerns about adverse livelihood or leakage effects. This study reports on a field experiment that varied the allocation of afforestation contracts to smallholder farmers in Malawi. Households were randomly assigned to participate in an auction or in a lottery for the contracts, which provided three years of payment based on tree survival outcomes. Households that did not receive a contract as a result of the lottery form a pure comparison group. The results show evidence for within-farm leakage for households that received a contract at random, in the form of additional land clearing. Randomly contracted households are also more likely to report household labor shortages. These effects are mitigated to some degree when contracts are assigned through an auction. Together, the results point to leakage and livelihood impacts from payments for environmental services that are often overlooked in standard evaluations, but which may be reduced through improvements in contract targeting.

Comparing tools to predict REDD+ conservation costs to Amazon smallholders

Payments for environmental services (PES) are compensating landowners or resource stewards for safeguarding ecosys-tem externalities not accounted for in the marketplace (Ferraro and Kiss, 2002; Wunder, 2007; Engel et al., 2008). PES couldbecome an important tool for forest-based climate change mitigation under REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestationand forest Degradation including conservation, sustainable forest management and enhancement of forest carbon stocks) (Wunder 2009), and be a quick way to reduce carbon emissions (Stern, 2007; Angelsen, 2008).

Recent Finance Advances in Information Technology for Inclusive Development: A Survey

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 what information technology mechanisms? We survey 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, crowd funding, microinsurance, Islamic finance, remittances, Payment for Environmental Services (PES) and the Diaspora Investment in Agriculture (DIA) initiative.

Abundancia Relativa del Colibrí Esmeralda (Amazilia luciae) en su Comunidad de Aves en el Valle de Agalta, Olancho, Honduras

El colibrí esmeralda hondureño (Amazilia luciae) es la única ave endémica de Honduras. Esta especie ha sido catalogada como una de las aves más amenazadas de Centroamérica. El colibrí esmeralda existe solamente en seis áreas de bosque seco de Honduras. En el oriente se conoce de los valles de Agalta y Telica (Olancho) y el valle de Aguán (Yoro). En el occidente se ha observado en los valles de Tencoa, Quimistán y Jicatuyo (Santa Bárbara y Cortés). El hábitat de bosque seco del valle de Agalta ha sido eliminado y deteriorado y para el 2102 solo permanecían 20 fragmentos de diferentes tamaños. En estos fragmentos censamos las aves con énfasis en el colibrí esmeralda. Hicimos 50 transeptos de punto y categorizamos a las aves según su abundancia. El colibrí esmeralda resultó ser relativamente común en el área. Lo encontramos en 10 de los fragmentos de bosque seco de Agalta. Esta fue la única especie especialista de las 90 que detectamos en el valle. Las demás especies son generalistas y la mayoría comunes o abundantes. Una de las especies comunes fue Arremonops chloronotus twomeyi, una subespecie que solo existe en los valles secos de Agalta y Aguán. A pesar de que observamos al colibrí, principalmente en los bordes de bosque seco, el mayor problema para su conservación en Agalta es la tenencia de la tierra. Diecinueve de los remanentes de bosque seco en Agalta son propiedad privada, el otro es municipal. Planteamos algunas alternativas para la conservación del colibrí esmeralda en Agalta. De estas, la que podría ser más factible es la creación de un programa de pagos por servicios ambientales (PSA). La regeneración del bosque en potreros en desuso actualmente no es una solución a largo plazo si siguen en manos privadas. Los propietarios privados protegerán el bosque si reciben estímulos económicos para hacerlo. Un PSA podría obtener parte de su financiamiento para operar por medio de un peaje ambiental en la carretera Gualaco-San Esteban.Ceiba, 2016. Volumen 54(2)127-138

Communal Participation in Payment for Environmental Services (PES): Unpacking the Collective Decision to Enroll.

Payment for Environmental Service programs are increasingly applied in communal settings where resource users collectively join the program and agree to limit their shared use of a common-property resource. Who decides to join PES and the degree to which community members agree with the collective decision is critical for the success of said programs. Yet, we have limited understanding of the factors that influence communal participation and the collective decision process. This paper examines communal participation in a national payment for conservation program in Ecuador. We use quantitative and qualitative analysis to (i) identify the attributes of the communities that participate (or not), and factors that facilitate participation (n = 67), and (ii) assess household preference and alignment with the collective decision to participate (n = 212). Household participation preferences indicate varying degrees of consensus with the collective decision to participate, with those using the resource less likely to support participation. At the communal level, however, our results indicate that over time, those communities that depend more heavily on their resource systems may ultimately choose to participate. Our findings suggest that communal governance structures and outside organizations may be instrumental in gaining participation in resource-dependent communities and building consensus. Findings also point to the need for further research on communal decision-processes to ensure that the collective decision is based on an informed and democratic process.

L’optimisation juridique du paiement pour services environnementaux en faveur de la préservation des services environnementaux : le cas du Cameroun et de la République Démocratique du Congo

The study starts from a hypothesis on the coherence and compatibility of the legal instruments in force in Cameroon and in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with the optimization of payment for environmental services (PES) and the preservation of environmental services. This study has employed a legal approach and interviews in order to investigate whether there is coherence and compatibility or not between the two variables of this hypothesis: (1) the legal instruments in force in Cameroon and in the DRC and (2) the optimization of PBS and the preservation of environmental services. This study consists of three parts. The first part deals with the theoretical framework of PES and the place of PES in the legal order. In this first part, the definition of an optimal PES, the indicators of an optimal PES and the categories of legal frameworks on PES have been revealed. These are the fundamental elements to conduct a systematic analysis in the second and third parts. Based on these fundamental elements, the study analyses the legal instruments from international, regional (Africa) and domestic (Cameroon and the DRC) levels and investigates through field research two PES projects, one in Cameroon called “PES comminatory project” and another in the DRC called “REDD CBFF-Luki” respectively in the second and the third parts. From the analysis of these legal instruments and the investigation of these two PES projects, it has become apparent that there is a lack of coherence and compatibility between the legal instruments and these two PES projects in Cameroon and in the DRC, and the optimization of PES and the preservation of environmental services in the Congo Basin in general, especially in these two States. Useful recommendations have been made to eradicate these shortcomings.

L’optimisation juridique du paiement pour services environnementaux en faveur de la préservation des services environnementaux : le cas du Cameroun et de la République Démocratique du Congo

The study starts from a hypothesis on the coherence and compatibility of the legal instruments in force in Cameroon and in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with the optimization of payment for environmental services (PES) and the preservation of environmental services. This study has employed a legal approach and interviews in order to investigate whether there is coherence and compatibility or not between the two variables of this hypothesis: (1) the legal instruments in force in Cameroon and in the DRC and (2) the optimization of PES and the preservation of environmental services. This study consists of three parts. The first part deals with the theoretical framework of PES and the place of PES in the legal order. In this first part, the definition of an optimal PES, the indicators of an optimal PES and the categories of legal frameworks on PES have been revealed. These are the fundamental elements to conduct a systematic analysis in the second and third parts. Based on these fundamental elements, the study analyses the legal instru- ments from international, regional (Africa) and domestic (Cameroon and the DRC) levels and investigates through field research two PES projects, one in Cameroon called “PES comminatory project” and another in the DRC called “REDD CBFF-Luki” respectively in the second and the third parts. From the analysis of these legal instruments and the investigation of these two PES projects, it has become apparent that there is a lack of coherence and compatibility between the legal instruments and these two PES projects in Cameroon and in the DRC, and the optimization of PES and the preservation of environmental services in the Congo Basin in general, especially in these two States. Useful recommendations have been made to eradicate these shortcomings. Key words: payment for environmental services, environmental services, Congo Basin

Shifting nutrient sink and source functions of stormwater detention areas in sub-tropics

Two-year field measured water and nutrient fluxes from an agricultural stormwater detention area (SDA) in Florida's Everglades region showed that it was a source of phosphorus (P) for the first year (Y1 retention efficiency=−12%) and a sink for the second year (Y2, 54%). The SDA remained a consistent sink of nitrogen (N). Source function was a combined effect of dilution of incoming drainage from a tropical storm and legacy-based soil P saturation. Denitrification was the main biochemical process contributing to N retention (Y1=23%, Y2=56%). Volume reduction was the main reason for nutrient retention, especially for P because of limited to no remaining soil P sorption capacity. Although a net sink of P for Y2, an event-wise analysis showed the source function for 40% of the outflow events indicating intermittent P release from soil. Because surface P treatment efficiency during both years was either less than or close to the water retention efficiency, volume reduction and not sorption or biological assimilation controlled P treatment. Almost a third of the incoming P was lost through subsurface pathways, highlighting the significance of groundwater P losses from SDAs. Harvesting and removal of biomass can mine P and restore SDA's sink function. For an example sub-basin of Florida Everglades, potentially harvestable P from SDAs was more than the basin P loads. A payment for environmental services project to treat additional P through biomass harvesting is a sustainable approach, especially under future climate projections of more frequent high-intensity storms for the Everglades and beyond.

Floristic structure and sequestration potential of cashew agroecosystems in Africa: A case study from Cameroon

ABSTRACTAgroecosystems are not only recognized by their high capacity of carbon storage and sequestration, they could also offer an opportunity of financial benefits in the event of payment for environmental services. The present study aimed to evaluate the carbon storage and describe the structure of cashew nut plantation. Three types of cashew stand were selected according to the age of plantations; we also used savannah as a treatment witness. Carbon stocks varied according to the age of plantations; 14.51 ± 0.306 t C/ha for plantations aged 0–10 yr; 34.78 ± 0.331 t C/ha for plantations aged 10–20 yr, and 40.02 ± 0.381 t C/ha for plantations aged over 20 yr. In the witness, we found 13.05 ± 0.177 t C/ha. These values were significantly different between the studied sites (p < 0.05). The mean values of the service of carbon sequestration also varied with the age of stands; $53.5/ha/yr (0–10 yr); $63.35/ha/yr (10–20 yr); $73.95/ha/yr (over 20 yr). In regard to carbon storage, $3279 are stored in these stands. These agroecosystems are also true carbon sinks. A development plan of such agroecosystems should be considered for the conservation of the species already endangered by anthropogenic activities on natural ecosystems.

Not the same for everyone: Community views of Mexico's payment for environmental services programmes

SUMMARYConservation policies have often been designed and implemented assuming that targeted communities are socially and politically homogeneous. Payment for environmental services (PES) programmes have often overlooked intra-community differences, which affect the understanding of implementation requirements and access to benefits, thus underestimating their effects on the programme's legitimacy and impacts. We explore how the views of local communities about the socio-environmental performance and dynamics of Mexico's PES differ within forest communities, considering two groups: local community authorities and the remaining beneficiaries in two different PES programmes. Informed by a nationwide survey, we constructed 35 indicators and found significant differences between these groups for 10 indicators. Local community authorities concentrated knowledge and information, relations with outside actors and control over benefit distribution. We found that community authorities and beneficiaries diverged in their views about the extent to which PES knowledge is shared across community members, how related implementation decisions are pursued and the fairness of benefit distribution, which we argue suggests this is a form of ‘elite capture’ favoured by PES design and implementation. Efforts should be invested in ensuring that PES programme benefits are equitably distributed in order to avoid widening pre-existing social and political asymmetries.

Livelihoods and Land Uses in Environmental Policy Approaches: The Case of PES and REDD+ in the Lam Dong Province of Vietnam

This paper explores assumptions about the drivers of forest cover change in a Payments for Environmental Services (PES) and Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) context in the Lam Dong Province in Vietnam. In policy discourses, deforestation is often linked to ‘poor’ and ‘ethnic minority’ households and their unsustainable practices such as the expansion of coffee production (and other agricultural activities) into forest areas. This paper applies a livelihood framework to discuss the links between livelihoods and land use amongst small-scale farmers in two communities. The findings of the livelihood survey demonstrate no clear linkages between poverty levels and unsustainable practices. In fact, the poorest segments were found to deforest the least. The ways in which current PES and REDD+ approaches are designed, do not provide appropriate solutions to address the underlying dimensions of issues at stake. The paper criticizes one-dimensional perspectives of the drivers behind deforestation and forest degradation often found in public policies and discourses. We suggest more comprehensive analyses of underlying factors encompassing the entire coffee production and land use system in this region. Addressing issues of land tenure and the scarcity of productive lands, and generating viable off-farm income alternatives seem to be crucial. Sustainable approaches for reducing deforestation and degradation could be possible through engaging with multiple stakeholders, including the business-oriented households in control of the coffee trade and of land transactions.

Financing marine conservation tourism: Governing entrance fees in Raja Ampat, Indonesia

Worldwide, the growth of marine tourism is creating opportunities for financing marine protected areas (MPAs), but what these financial arrangements look like and how they can be governed at larger scales, and in equitable and transparent ways, is unclear. This paper examines the governance arrangement of two region-wide successive entrance fee systems established since 1997 in Raja Ampat, Indonesia, to finance a network of MPAs delineated under the auspices of two big international non-governmental organizations (NGO), namely Raja Ampat Entrance Fee and Raja Ampat Ecosystem Service Stewardship Fee. These two successive entrance fee systems can be viewed as payment for environmental services (PES) arrangements. The PES-like entrance fee arrangements improved in terms of participation, transparency and equity. In the second scheme, local communities in Raja Ampat were involved in the design of the disbursement of the community fund, and the criteria for disbursement became more clear and transparent. However, in both schemes there is no clear connection between the distribution of the funds and activities that improve environmental services provision (conditionality). In addition, the latter scheme is still facing equity challenges as some communities with customary rights over marine tourism hotspots are asking for additional user-fees from tourists and tourism operators.