Payments For Ecosystem Services Research Articles

Residents’ interest in landscape value trade related to wind energy: application of the attitude–behavior framework to willingness to pay

ABSTRACT Reducing the undesirable outcomes of wind power (WP) in the vicinity of homes with forest management practices can increase the acceptance of WP. If forest owners would avoid clear felling and use light forest management close to homes towards wind turbines, residents might be interested in paying for such a ‘landscape shield’ in the payment for ecosystem services (PES) context. The majority (83.7%) of the survey sample from Finland were interested in participating in the PES mechanism. On average, they were willing to pay €80.9 per hectare annually to participate in landscape value trade arranging a landscape shield against wind turbines. We applied the attitude–behavior framework to understand the factors and structures underlying residents’ willingness to pay (WTP). The analysis emphasized the importance of intentions, attitudes, and subjective norms over socio-demographic variables in explaining WTP. WTP and the intention to contribute to the cost of the landscape shield were determined by the intention to discuss landscape protection with forest owners and further by the attitudes towards the landscape shield and the interest of neighbors it. This result strongly emphasizes the importance of communication, both with the providers and other consumers of the service.

Review of Valuation of Forest Ecosystem Services and Realization Approaches in China

Forests are essential for the provision of water, financial resources, food, and carbon, and offer immense ecosystem service values. The accurate, quantitative, and objective evaluation of forest ecosystem service (FES) values can help uncover methods for realizing ecological product value, which in turn supports forest conservation and ecological benefit enhancement. In China, FES valuation methods are diverse and tailored to specific objectives, encompassing matter quantity assessment, value quantity assessment, energy value analysis, and landscape ecological modeling methods. The “Forest Ecosystem Service Function Assessment Specification” guideline plays a crucial role in fostering standardized valuation. Carbon-related ecosystem services have been increasingly studied in China; however, valuation challenges remain, including data accuracy, the double counting of ecosystem services, methodological limitations, and the incomplete assessment of non-use values. Regarding value realization, the development of payment for ecosystem services (PES), ecological product benefit trading (EPBT), ecological premiums, and ecological industries has seen gradual progresses in recent years. However, realization approaches still depend on government support, and the establishment of market-oriented strategies requires further reinforcement. Enhancing FES valuation necessitates the integration of interdisciplinary and multi-method approaches, as well as the creation of an accounting and assessment mechanism. Realization approaches must not only be continuously expanded but also consistently innovated over time. It is essential to consider the impact of market development on FES valuation; establish robust realization approaches; reinforce promotional and guarantee mechanisms; and increase the efficacy of policy management.

No crowding out among those terminated from an ongoing PES program in Colombia

This paper presents novel evidence of no crowding out, of either motivations or donations, among those terminated from an ongoing program of payments for ecosystem services (PES) in Colombia. PES programs have risen in number. However, claims about perverse impacts after programs end could inhibit their growth. PES end for different reasons (planned duration, budget reduction, issues in implementation) and in different ways (some participants or all). An expressed concern for PES is that receiving payments lowers conservation, after PES end, if participants' intrinsic motivations for conservation are ‘crowded out’ by financial incentives. We test for crowding out by an ongoing program in which some but not all contracts were terminated. We see no evidence of crowding out, since neither the motivations nor the donations for the terminated farmers are significantly different than for non-PES land owners (and this is robust to matching on levels of assets, residence on farm past donation behavior, main economic activity, and participation in collective activities). Our results add evidence from an actual PES to literature questioning the relevance, importance and even sign of crowding effects.

Ecosystem services from partially harvested riparian buffers can offset biomass production costs

There is a broad consensus that riparian buffers provide environmental benefits and increase resilience to climate change. In this study, we examined the potential benefits of multi-zone riparian buffers with outer layers planted in perennial crops (i.e., partially harvested buffers). This was accomplished by developing a simplified regional modeling tool, BioVEST, which was applied in the Mid-Atlantic region of the USA. Our analysis revealed that a substantial portion of variable costs to produce biomass for energy can potentially be offset by values provided by ecosystem services from partially harvested riparian buffers. Ecosystem services were monetized and found to represent a substantial fraction (median = ~42%) of variable crop production cost. Simulated water-quality improvements and carbon benefits generally occurred where buffer area was available, but hotspots occurred in different watersheds, suggesting potential trade-offs in decisions about buffer locations. A portion of buffers could be eligible for ecosystem service payments under US government incentive programs. Partially harvested buffers could represent a sustainable and climate-resilient part of multi-functional agricultural landscapes, and one that could become economically viable if farmers are able to reap the value of providing ecosystem services and if logistical challenges are resolved. Our results suggest that payments for ecosystem services can close the gap between what biorefineries are willing to pay and what landowners are willing to accept to grow and harvest perennials along streams.

A Framework Proposal for the Ex Post Evaluation of a Solution-Driven PES Scheme: The Case of Medvednica Nature Park

Payments for ecosystem services are a voluntary market-based instrument to remunerate provider(s) of ecosystem services by those who benefit from them. Our research aimed to create an ex post evaluation framework to identify bottlenecks and elements hindering the success of a solution-driven PES scheme. The framework was applied to a case study to assess its feasibility and concerns the provision of health and recreational services in the Medvednica Nature Park (Zagreb, Croatia). The framework was set up through three main sources: the study of PES implementation project documentation, semi-structured interviews with visitors and key stakeholders, and web-scraping of TripAdvisor reviews of the park. The main findings confirm society’s interest in the park, but the lack of mapping, quantification, and accounting of the services analysed, the little or no demand from society to pay for their provision, and confused knowledge of the property rights of some ecosystem service providers in the area limit the success of the PES scheme. The framework was useful to describe the chosen PES scheme and to identify bottlenecks and fragilities of the system in place, allowing it to correct its application flaws and, on the other hand, to demonstrate its replicability in other contexts.

Status and opportunities for improvement in greenhouse gas emission inventories for the cattle production in Latin America and the Caribbean region: A perspective

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides the reference for national greenhouse gas emission (GHG) inventories towards standardized, accurate, measurable, and comparable National Inventory Reports (NIR). For compliance with the 1.5⁰C commitments under the Paris Agreement, most countries have made efforts to improve their inventory methods to tier 2 or 3. However, some relevant activities within Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) countries, such as enteric methane emissions and methane and nitrous oxide emissions from cattle manure management are still estimated using tier 1 methods, which leads to a high uncertainty due to the importance of livestock emissions in the national totals for these countries. In this context, reducing the uncertainty in GHG inventories would not only improve the accuracy of national reports but it would also provide solid baselines for national mitigation initiatives e.g., Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement, and accurate tools to venture into carbon bonds or payments for ecosystem services. The aim of this study was to review the status of national GHG inventories specifically for these three cattle emission categories in 11 LAC countries. We conducted a survey of GHG inventory experts in the 11 LAC countries, to identify the potential for improvement and the main barriers to achieving this. Despite some initiatives, there is still a large potential for reducing the uncertainty in LAC national GHG emission estimates, the barriers to or solutions can be categorized as technical, policy, and institutional issues. However, improving the GHG inventories of LAC countries, specifically for cattle emissions, is feasible in the medium term, as long as multilateral actions are considered, coherently linked under a comparable and verifiable methodology and including a commitment by countries to invest public funds in relevant research and innovations.

A Bi-level optimization approach to reduce the pollution burden of lake water with ecological compensation

Lake Ecological Compensation (LEC) mechanism is a localized approach of payment for ecosystem services to address the conflict between economic development and ecological conservation. However, how to motivate regional stakeholders to participate in water quality protection is a challenge. Based on the traditional Coase Theorem, vertical eco-compensation mechanism has been proposed to solve pollution of lake basin. The quantification of LEC is characterized by key water quality indicators (NH3-N and COD) in this paper. Integrating LEC mechanism with the ecological-economic model, this paper proposes a bi-level optimization framework for the conservation of the lake water environment. Referring to Coase’s theory, the leader’s goal is to distribute waste load permits equally to sub-regions while followers aim to minimize environmental costs. The appropriate application of this method to Taihu Basin demonstrates its efficiency and practicality. The LEC mechanism with different scenarios is analyzed and suggestions for lake water quality are made. The results show that: (1) Considering equitable principle, the new COD allocation scheme has reduced the total amount of emissions by 17% compared to the data in 2020, and the total amount of NH3-N has decreased by 16%. (2) With the cooperation of lake basin institutions, the LEC mechanism is proved to be an effective measure in promoting the conservation of the lake water environment. (3) The spillover effect of environmental and ecological policies in lake water indicates the need to upgrade industrial structure. This paper proposes to provide a more reliable the conservation of the lake water environment paradigm.

Ecological Basis of Ecosystem Services and Management of Wetlands Dominated by Common Reed (Phragmites australis): European Perspective

The common reed (Phragmites australis) is a frequent dominant species in European wetlands. Yet, its performance can vary in response to different combinations of environmental factors. This accounts for P. australis decline on deep-water sites, its stable performance in constructed wetlands with subsurface horizontal flow and its expansion in wet meadows. Reed stands provide habitats for nesting, feeding or roosting of vulnerable bird species. Conservation measures aim at preventing or stopping the decline of P. australis stands, increasing their micro-habitat heterogeneity and reducing the reed penetration into wet meadows. Service-oriented measures aim at providing suitable conditions for direct use of reed stalks for roof thatching or as a renewable energy crop or the use of the reed-dominated habitats for waterfowl hunting, cattle grazing or fishing. The compatibility between nature conservation and different socioeconomic uses can be promoted by collective agreements, agri-environmental contracts or payments for ecosystem services of the reedbeds. In situations with multiple uses, a modelling approach considering the participation of all the stakeholders concerned can be a useful tool for resolving conflicts and developing a shared vision of the respective socio-ecosystem.

Drivers of PES effectiveness: Some evidence from a quantitative meta-analysis

Payments for Environmental or Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes have become a popular tool to address environmental degradation and to promote sustainable management of ecosystem services. We use meta-regression analysis on a sample of 110 individual studies to investigate the determinants of the environmental effectiveness, defined as the probability to increase environmental services (ES) provision, of about 149 PES-schemes implemented worldwide. We find that increased effectiveness of PES schemes is strongly associated with periodical third-party monitoring, generic reference design and to a lesser extent results-based payments. We further study the determinants of PES additionality, defined as direct changes in ES provision induced by the PES scheme, compared to a baseline without PES, on a smaller sample of 41 studies from which we could obtain the necessary data. The results confirm the role of certain design variables, such as monitoring type, and raise a potential trade-off between enrolment and additionality in the assessment of PES effectiveness.

Payments for ecosystem services did not crowd out pro-environmental behavior: Long-term experimental evidence from Uganda

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) are increasingly being implemented worldwide as conservation instruments that provide conditional economic incentives to landowners for a prespecified duration. However, in the psychological and economic literature, critics have raised concerns that PES can undermine the recipient's intrinsic motivation to engage in pro-environmental behavior. Such "crowding out" may reduce the effectiveness of PES and may even worsen conservation outcomes once programs are terminated. In this study, we harnessed a randomized controlled trial that provided PES to land users in Western Uganda and evaluated whether these incentives had a persistent effect on pro-environmental behavior and its underlying behavioral drivers 6 y after the last payments were made. We elicited pro-environmental behavior with an incentivized, experimental measure that consisted of a choice for respondents between more and less environmentally friendly tree seedlings. In addition to this main outcome, survey-based measures for underlying behavioral drivers captured self-efficacy beliefs, intrinsic motivation, and perceived forest benefits. Overall, we found no indications that PES led to the crowding out of pro-environmental behavior. That is, respondents from the treatment villages were as likely as respondents from the control villages to choose environmentally friendly tree seedlings. We also found no systematic differences between these two groups in their underlying behavioral drivers, and nor did we find evidence for crowding effects when focusing on self-reported tree planting behavior as an alternative outcome measure.

Preferences for a payment for ecosystem services program to control forest fires in Burkina Faso: A choice experiment

The successful implementation of a payments for ecosystem services (PES) program depends on a mix of incentives, including nonmonetary incentives. This study investigates local households' willingness to enroll in a PES program that controls forest fires in the Nazinon forest of Burkina Faso. A choice experiment is conducted with 200 household heads to elicit their preferences for the different attributes of the proposed PES program. Five attributes are considered, namely, forms of technical assistance, use restrictions, the number of monitoring trips conducted, the width of the implemented firewall, and monthly financial incentives. A mixed logit model specified in the preference space is used to examine the heterogeneity of preferences for the PES program's attributes. We provide estimates for marginal willingness-to-accept values of the considered attributes. The results indicate that the current PES reduces respondents' satisfaction and decreases the probability of their uptake. Furthermore, the results show that increasing the frequency of monitoring, the width of firewall bands, and technical assistance and improving financial incentives promote households' utility. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers to guide the future design of PES programs and encourage user support to combat forest resource degradation.

Global patterns of collective payments for ecosystem services and their degrees of commodification

This study provides a novel framework for analysing PES-related degrees of ES-commodification. The framework differentiates PES programs by the extent to which ES are traded in a market-like exchange in terms of four PES design components. We apply this framework to a newly compiled global dataset of collective PES programs (C-PES). C-PES address communities and groups instead of individuals and private entities and provide voluntary, conditional incentives for ES protection. Many conservationists see potentials for supporting participation and cooperation when linking common land titles with the PES approach instead of strengthening private land tenure regimes. We identified 29 C-PES cases with clusters in Central and Southeast Africa, Central America, and Southeast Asia. Particularly C-PES programs focusing on carbon or wildlife ES reach medium to high degrees of commodification, whereas schemes targeting biodiversity, watershed, or bundled ES show rather low to medium degrees of commodification. Our framework allows for a more nuanced study of the pluralism of PES designs and lays the foundation for further research on the differentiated role of ES-commodification for social-ecological outcomes.

Are there bright spots in an agriculture frontier? Characterizing seeds of good Anthropocene in Matopiba, Brazil

Tackling deforestation and forest degradation calls for cross scale coordination of a mix of policies both top-down Command and Control (CC), together with bottom-up, local to regional. While considerable efforts have been made to analyze CC approaches, bottom-up initiatives in place have not yet been characterized. In this study, we use the seeds of good Anthropocene, a framework that emphasize hopeful initiatives existing in practice, to identify bottom-up initiatives in Matopiba, one of the most dynamic agricultural frontiers in Brazil. “Matopiba Seeds” were characterized according to social, technological, economic, ecological, political and value dimensions (STEEPV). We then used the Three Horizon framework, that help uncover multiple pathways towards sustainable development goals, to explore positive transitions in Matopiba. Our results show that out of 379 initiatives only 14 score high in different STEEPV dimensions likely enabling cross scale coordination. About 36% of the initiatives promote traditional knowledge in the use of biodiversity, 29% promote the payment for ecosystem services, 21% assist agriculture modernization and 14% support tourism and cultural identity. However, these initiatives were invested only $11 million between 2016 and 2021 and only three are emerging from local community (bottom-up). This study illustrates paths to instill transformative transitions in Brazil's agricultural frontiers by raising awareness of the importance to nurture existing bottom-up and top-down initiatives that have the capacity to put sustainable development concepts into practice making the explicit need for agribusiness to comply with trade agreements and environmental laws.

Estimating the Socio-Economic Values of Forest Ecosystem Services Using the Stated Preference Method in Dir Kohistan (Pakistan)

The research study was conducted in the Dir Forest Division of the KP Forest Department. The primary purpose was to estimate the socioeconomic values of ecosystem services of forests. For this study, 120 respondents were selected in 10 villages of the Dir Forest division through random sampling techniques. The study showed that firewood is the primary fuel source, and the local communities procured huge amounts of firewood from plantations and farmlands through local purchases. The economic value of forest ecosystem regulation, support, and cultural services must be addressed at the public level. As a result, the overall worth of the forestry industry in the globe in general, and Pakistan in particular, could be considered much higher. This study aimed to determine the relevance of various types of ecosystem services and their relationship to the socioeconomic status of individuals in the Dir Forest division. It focuses on estimating the economic value of a subset of services relevant to local communities, such as provisioning services (fuel wood) and cultural services (tourism), using the stated preference method (Contingent Valuation) and recommending a feasible payment for ecosystem services (PES) mechanism. According to data from the Economic valuation of fuel wood services, Dir Forest Division obtains a total of US$ 04 million- $ USD worth of fuel wood services per year. To determine the tourism trend and its economic worth, data was collected from hotel owners, 120 tourists, and key informants in the study area using a pretested questionnaire for seven years, from 2015 to 2021.

The effect of payments for ecosystem services on forest cover, land use, and capacity building in northern Mexico

The endorreic watershed of Laguna de Santiaguillo, located in Durango, Mexico, provides important ecosystem services to local communities. Due to its size and forest diversity, it is the refuge for many reptiles and migratory birds. It captures a large amount of carbon dioxide in its soil and vegetation, all while catching the water that will then be used for agriculture and aquifer recharge. To improve these ecosystem services, as well as maintain a collaborative relationship with the watershed, several community-owned properties in this area, known as ejidos, enrolled in a federally supported Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) program. This program grants economic subsidies to landowners to help protect forest resources. However, there is little information on the effect that this program has on these types of community-owned properties. Through a spatial analysis, the vegetation index was estimated, as well as the impact that this program has had on the communities and their resources. A Difference-in-Differences (DiD) method was used to test for differences in remotely sensed vegetation cover and land use between PES and non-PES ejido recipients. Socioeconomic indicators, obtained from surveys, were also evaluated. Results show that changes in vegetation cover and land use were significant in secondary forests but not in primary forests in the selected periods. The overall difference, given by the DiD model, show no significant differences in land use changes. This study can help resource managers to monitor the additionality on forest resources and internal organization of ejido participants.

Strong call to safeguard traditional agriculture as habitat for threatened crane species

This Scientific Impact Paper summarizes the changes in policy and practice of crane conservation that have occurred since our 2019 research in the Cheorwon Basin located in the Civilian Control Zone (CCZ) of the Republic of Korea (ROK). Changes in National Policy as well as increased engagement of conservation NGOs have led to more engagement of farmers in safeguarding crane habitat in their fields. Yet the current system of low-intensity rice farming is dependent on military land-use restrictions. The Cheorwon Basin in the Civilian Control Zone (CCZ) of the Republic of Korea (ROK) hosts the most important wintering site of two threatened crane species, the white-naped crane (Grus vipio) and the red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis). Both species predominately use harvested rice paddy fields as foraging sites (Kim et al., 2016). In 2019, we carried out a stakeholder analysis (Jin et al., 2021) revealing that local initiatives had successfully engaged farmers in conserving crane habitat on their fields, in part through the provision of direct and indirect financial incentives. Yet it proved challenging to engage stakeholders critical of crane conservation in our research (e.g., the military or firms interested in agricultural/ industrial development of the area). Here we summarize the changes in policy and practice of crane conservation that have occurred in the three years following our initial research. We report these insights based on expert interviews conducted in 2022 with a local farmer representative (I#1), and a local and international crane conservation specialist (I#2, I#3). At national level, the Biological Diversity Act (2002) was revised in 2019 allowing for the possibility of the private sector to co-finance the ROK government's system of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES). The National Nature Trust owns a legal foundation to operate PES and has expressed interest in extending the payments to crane conservation (I#3). While the system of PES was already in place in other regions of ROK, enhanced funding by the local government and the Ministry of Environment allowed for its initiation in the Cheorwon Basin. Farmers now receive government payments for specific biodiversity-friendly methods. These include the restricted use of pesticides, leaving leftover grains on the field and keeping rice fields flooded throughout winter in order to provide foraging and roosting habitat for cranes (I#2). According to a local farmer representative, the process of engaging in interviews for our initial publication and thereby expressing diverse opinions increased trust relations, and respect among members of the Crane Coordinating Committee. Yet communication with stakeholders outside the committee is still perceived as challenging. (I#1). The International Crane Foundation has started a new project centered upon Cheorwon with the major components being citizen science, outreach to stakeholders and policy-makers, strengthening networks for crane conservation and education, and awareness raising for example, by initiating a local crane festival which can attract tourists to the region (I#2). The Cheorwon Basin is the only area in the ROK, in which low-intensity rice farming is still practiced and crucial roosting and foraging habitat for cranes are secured. Plans to protect the site and the traditional farming practices by establishing a nature reserve have not yet been successful (Kim et al., 2011). This means that the current state of successful cooperation between farmers and crane conservation largely depends on military land-use restrictions that have become less strict in recent years. The size of the CCZ has decreased (Figure 1) and even within the remaining area, greenhouses and ginseng farms have rapidly expanded while the pressure for further economic development persists. Karoline Hemminger: Conceptualization (lead); Conducting Interviews, Interview Analysis (lead); Writing-original draft (lead); Writing-review and editing (lead). Hyeyeon Sarah Jin: Conducting Interviews (lead); Writing-review and editing. Spike Millington, Jongsoo Choi: Writing-review and editing. Kisup Lee: Visualization; Writing-review and editing. Claudia Sattler: Conceptualization, Visualization (lead), Writing-review and editing. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. The interview transcripts are not available because they include clear names of individuals mentioned during the interview conversations as well as sensitive information which may allow to guess the identity of the interviewees.

Incorporating fire-smartness into agricultural policies reduces suppression costs and ecosystem services damages from wildfires

In southern Europe, land abandonment and an unbalanced investment toward fire suppression instead of prevention has gradually increased wildfire risk, which calls for a paradigm change in fire management policies. Here we combined scenario analysis, fire landscape modelling, and economic tools to identify which land-use policies would reduce the expected wildfire-related losses in the Transboundary Biosphere Reserve ‘Gerês-Xurés’ (Spain-Portugal). To do so, we applied the least-cost-plus-net-value-change approach and estimated net changes in wildfire damages based on their implications for the 2010–2050 period and five ecosystem services: agriculture, pasture, timber, recreation and climate regulation. Four land-use scenarios were considered: (1) Business as Usual (BAU); (2) fire-smart, fostering more fire-resistant (less flammable) and/or fire-resilient landscapes (fire-smart); (3) High Nature Value farmlands (HNVf), wherein the abandonment of extensive agriculture is reversed; and (4) a combination of HNVf and fire-smart. HNVf is the best scenario for suppression cost savings, but it generates the lowest net present value of societal benefits from climate regulation. In fact, the most efficient scenario with the lowest societal discounted net suppression costs and change on ecosystem services damages is the HNVf + fire-smart scenario, as it also generates suppression cost savings from agricultural expansion, and lead to a significant reduction in damages on timber and recreational benefits. Therefore, reverting land abandonment through recultivation and promoting fire-resistant tree species is the most efficient way to reduce wildfire hazard. In this sense, payments for ecosystem services should reward farmers and landowners for their role in wildfire prevention. This study improves the understanding of the financial and societal benefits derived from reducing fire suppression spending and ecosystem services damage by undertaking fire-smart land-use strategies, which can be essential to enhance local stakeholders' support for Payments of Ecosystem Services policies for wildfire prevention.

The monetary facilities payment for ecosystem services as an approach to restore the Degraded Urmia Lake in Iran.

This study analyzed the potential use of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) as a strategy for improving water supply management. This study focused on the Siminehroud Sub-basin due to its high importance to the Basin of Urmia Lake (UL). Siminehroud is the second provider of water (by volume) to Urmia Lake. To evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of a PES scheme, the current land use map was extracted using satellite imagery. In addition, the two algorithms of Support Vector Machines (SVMs) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) are used for Landsat images classification, rather than analyzing the relationship between land use and ecosystem services. Then, the most relevant ecosystem services provided in the region were evaluated using the Benefit Transfer Method. In the last step, by designing and implementing a survey, on the one hand, the local farmers' Willingness to Accept (WTA) cash payments for reducing the area they cultivate, and on the other hand, the farmers' Willingness to Pay (WTP) for managing the water consumption were determined. The results illustrated that the WTA program is more acceptable among the beneficiaries. It is also notable that this program needs very high governmental funding. Furthermore, the results of the program indicate that the land area out of the cultivation cycle will gradually increase while the price of agricultural water will also increase.

Small tradeoffs between social equity and conservation outcomes in a freshwater payment for ecosystem services scheme.

Conservation programs around the world aim to balance social equity, economic efficiency, and conservation outcomes. Tradeoffs among these three objectives necessarily exist but have been quantified in only a handful of systems. Here, we use a multi-objective mathematical optimization model in a large, water-limited river basin to quantify these tradeoffs in a freshwater payment for ecosystem services (PES) program aimed at establishing environmental flows (e-flows). Across a range of budgetary and future climate scenarios, we find that tradeoffs between social equity and conservation outcomes are small. We also show that payment schemes in which incentives are allocated to a single water use sector are much less cost-effective than schemes in which incentives are allocated among multiple sectors. Thus, allocating payments equally among agricultural, municipal, and industrial sectors can be both more equitable and more cost-effective. Overall, our results illustrate how some carefully designed conservation programs may be able to achieve a triple bottom line of social equity, economic efficiency, and conservation effectiveness.

The Dynamics of Implementing Payment for Ecosystem Services Scheme in Lake Naivasha Basin Ecosystem, Kenya

Lake Naivasha Basin is located in Nakuru and Nyandarua counties in the Republic of Kenya. It is an important ecosystem to the economy of Kenya, consistently contributing upwards of 1% of the national Gross Domestic Production. However, this landscape is continuously and rapidly degrading due to intensive land use practices and land fragmentation in spite of the existence of various natural resource management policies in Kenya. The promotion of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) as a policy option to foster ecosystems sustainability by increasing the capacity of government authorities and local communities in Kenya to conserve riparian and forest ecosystems so as to reduce the vulnerability of dependent communities and production enterprises to the observed and anticipated effects of climate change is implied in the key environmental and natural resources policies in Kenya. We examine whether the Lake Naivasha Basin Payment for Ecosystem Services (LNB-PES) scheme embodied the critical characteristics of an effective PES mechanism and if it achieved the desired ecological and livelihood results. A total of 1,191 heads of households and 11 key informants were interviewed for this study. The study results indicate that the LNB-PES scheme had some functional and conceptual inadequacies although it achieved remarkable adoption and compliance by participating farmers. Based on these results, we recommend that a new PES scheme with a conditionalities enforcement mechanism be initiated for the LNB with a view to informing the mainstreaming of the concept of enforceable PES in the existing policy framework, the development of a national or basin-level PES policy, and, support watershed restoration and climate change adaptation through the provision of forest technical extension services to land owners for the creation of woodlots and other watershed protection initiatives at farm level.