Payments For Ecosystem Services Research Articles

Understanding non-participation in local governance institutions in Indonesia

Community-centered approaches are crucial and impactful strategies for the global climate and biodiversity crisis. However, these approaches hinge upon participation for both pragmatic and ethical reasons. While there is a growing body of research in this field, most studies focus on those who opt in to these community-based approaches. Research focuses on how interventions do or do not achieve the intended cross-sectoral outcomes that are flagship among these strategies. Few studies seek to understand the objective and subjective constraints of non-participants. We investigated why community members chose not to participate in a community-centered conservation approach in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. We used snowball saturation sampling and semi-structured interviews across nine villages, surveying both non-participants and key informants. Our results show that non-material factors such as time, lack of understanding, and feeling uninvited drove non-participation. Non-participants did not identify a lack of interest in program activities or services as a primary reason for opting out. Key informants suggested that participation could be improved with better outreach around objectives, potential benefits, and data feedback loops that quickly communicated results to community members. These results have implications for conservation strategies around the globe as findings suggest investing in non-material factors (e.g., improved messaging and considerations of time burdens) are significant constraints to participation. Payment for ecosystem services and carbon finance schemes often invest considerable time and money in incentivizing participation with material benefits, and our results suggest a more significant consideration should be placed on time requirements, messaging/outreach, adaptive feedback loops, and democratizing data ownership.

Impacts of land use and cover changes on ecosystem service values from 1992 to 2052 in Gena District, Southwest Ethiopia

Land use and cover changes alter the functions and structures of ecosystem, resulting in variations in Ecosystem Service Values (ESVs). Thus, we examined the impacts of land use/land cover (LULC) changes on ESVs from 1992 to 2052 using geospatial technologies. The Landsat images were classified using the supervised maximum likelihood classification technique, and future changes in LULC were predicted using the CA-Markov model. Ecosystem Service Values coefficients were adopted from empirical studies and ESVs changes were evaluated based on the benefit transfer method using LULC data for the study periods, with their corresponding modified ESVs coefficients. The results revealed that, the proportions of grassland, forestland and shrubland declined by 58.5 %, 48.15 % and 33.48 %, respectively, from 1992 to 2022. Simultaneously, the highest rate of expansions of waterbodies (34 times), farmland and settlement threefold as well as bareland (60.2 %) from 1992 to 2022 was noticed. As a result, decreasing trends were experienced in the total ESVs of the district from US$33.6 million in 1992 to US$27.79 million in 2022, and are anticipated to further decline to US$25.94 million in 2052. The ESVs of forestland, shrubland and grassland shrank from 53.1 %, 40 % and 2.78 % in 1992 to 33.28 %, 33.16 % and 1.4 % in 2022 these changes are anticipated to continue for the next three decades, except trend for the increase in grassland ecosystem service value. Therefore, the government should redesign effective land management strategies to alleviate the negative consequences of LULC changes, facilitate payment for ecosystem services, and design ecotourism to boost the income of residents for major land use management-based production systems to increase the ESV in the district.

Calibrating payment for ecosystem services: a process-oriented policy design approach

Recent empirical research in policy design has shown the relevance of micro-level components, particularly specification and calibration, in shaping policy outcomes. Additionally, research highlights the importance that understanding the mechanisms underlying the policy process has for effective policy design. Yet, a gap persists in how to effectively calibrate and specify policies for specific cases, with a theoretical grounding and guidance for practitioners. This paper addresses this need by applying a process theory of change to delineate the key episodes that constitute the mechanisms of a plausible pathway for an effective Program for Ecosystem Services (PES), an incentives-based instrument focused on conserving forests producing carbon sequestration, biodiversity protection, and water infiltration, among other services. Specifically, the paper uses the well-documented Mexican PES to illustrate how to derive the mechanisms and use them for calibration and specification. The paper provides valuable theoretical insights drawn from the case study, contributing to the field of micro-policy design with a mechanistic approach.

Exploring local perceptions and drivers of engagement in biodiversity monitoring among participants in payments for ecosystem services schemes in southeastern Mexico.

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) are widely applied incentive-based instruments with diverse objectives that increasingly include biodiversity conservation. Yet, there is a gap in understanding of how to best assess and monitor programs' biodiversity outcomes. We examined perceptions and drivers of engagement related to biodiversity monitoring through surveys among current PES participants in 7 communities in Mexico's Selva Lacandona. We conducted workshops among survey participants that included training and field deployment of tools used to monitor biodiversity and land cover, including visual transects, camera traps, acoustic recorders, and forest cover satellite images. We conducted pre- and postworkshop surveys in each community to evaluate changes in respondents' perceptions following exposure to biodiversity monitoring training and related field activities. We also reviewed existing research on participatory environmental management and monitoring approaches. One quarter of current PES participants in the study area participated in our surveys and workshops. The majority stated interest in engaging in diverse activities related to the procedural aspects of biodiversity monitoring (e.g., planning, field data collection, results dissemination) and acknowledged multiple benefits of introducing biodiversity monitoring into PES (e.g., knowledge and capacity building, improved natural resource management, and greater support for conservation). Household economic reliance on PES was positively associated with willingness to engage in monitoring. Technical expertise, time, and monetary constraints were deterrents. Respondents were most interested in monitoring mammals, birds, and plants and using visual transects, camera traps, and forest cover satellite images. Exposure to monitoring enhanced subsequent interest in monitoring by providing respondents with new insights from their communities related to deforestation and species' abundance and diversity. Respondents identified key strengths and weaknesses of applying different monitoring tools, which suggests that deploying multiple tools simultaneously can increase local engagement and produce complementary findings and data. Overall, our findings support the relevance and usefulness of incorporating participatory biodiversity monitoring into PES.

Unraveling spatial agglomeration patterns in agri-environmental schemes: Evidence from the improvement of steppe habitats in the Natura 2000 network in Catalonia (Spain)

The European payment for ecosystem services in the agricultural sector, or agri-environmental schemes (AES), have shown limited success in stopping biodiversity loss due to the mismatches between the scale at which they are adopted and the scale of ecological processes. This study analyzes the spatial distribution of farmer participation in the “Improvement of the steppe habitats of the Natura 2000 Network” AES in Catalonia (Spain) to test and explain potential agglomeration patterns. Our findings evidence spatial agglomeration of AES enrollment both within the farm (with farmers enrolling their adjacent or nearby plots in the scheme) and among farms (with farmers that adopt AES being near each other). Plots under the Natura2000-AES are located within a maximum distance of 2.4 km from their nearest enrolled plots, which would provide sufficient habitat continuum to allow for birds’ mobility across landscapes. Our results also indicate that participation concentrates on larger, non-irrigated and/or fallow plots, farms that are managed by professionals, young farmers, and/or members of a farmer organization, and municipalities with lower socioeconomic indexes. These results contradict the assumption that there are no agglomeration patterns in the AES context and reveal the interest of further studying the socio-ecological factors that underlie spatial agglomeration patterns of AES and designing landscape-management strategies accordingly.

Effect of payment for forest ecosystem services on forest conservation practices in Vietnam

Payment for forest ecosystem services (PFES) policy is a prevalent strategy designed to establish a marketplace where users compensate providers for forest ecosystem services. This research endeavours to scrutinise the impact of PFES on households’ perceptions of forest values and their behaviour towards forest conservation, in conjunction with their socio-economic circumstances and their communal involvement in forest management. By incorporating the social-ecological system framework and the theory of human behaviours in environmental conservation, this study employs a structural equations model to analyse the factors influencing individuals’ perceptions and behaviours towards forest conservation. The findings indicate that the payment of PFES significantly increases forest protection behaviour at the household level and has achieved partial success in activating community mechanisms to guide human behaviour towards forest conservation. Furthermore, it has effectively leveraged the role of state-led social organisations to alter local individuals’ perceptions and behaviours towards forest protection.

Evaluation analysis of the compensation payments schemes for ecosystem services: The case of Czech and Slovak Republic

Compensation payments for ownership rights restrictions due to nature conservation of forest land have a long history in the Czech and Slovak Republics. A similar understanding and the common roots of nature conservation led us to analyse the implementation of these governmental payments for ecosystem services in both countries. This study aimed to compare the implementation process of payments in the Czech and Slovak Republics and to answer the following research question: How effective are they in ecosystem services provisions? Methodologically, the study was based on document analysis and interviews with forestry and environmental stakeholders and policymakers. We evaluated compensation payments with a multicriteria analysis based on policy analysis and governance theory. The evaluation analysis disclosed very similar results concerning the relevant implementation gaps in both countries. We observed that for small- and medium-scale forest owners, it is difficult to apply for compensation payments, e.g., they lack information about it. In both countries, the implementation process needs to be revised and improved. In summary, compensation payments have moderate environmental effectiveness related to their goals and ecosystem services support.

Revealing urban residents’ intention to pay for the greening of farmland in the urban fringe by extending the theory of planned behavior: Insights from payment for ecosystem services

The greening of farmland in the urban fringe improves the resilience of urban ecosystem and brings more abundant ecosystem services to urban residents. From the perspective of payment for ecosystem services, this study explored urban residents’ intention to pay for the improved ecosystem by extending the theory of planned behavior. The main findings are as follows. First, 76% of urban residents had a relatively strong payment intention. Second, moral obligation was the foremost factor that affects intention, which highlights the importance of individuals’ intrinsic sense of responsibility and social altruism to mould “greening action”. Third, the positive effect of behavioral attitude was subsequently highlighted, therefore, the government should shape decision-makers’ positive attitudes by propagandizing the value of green farmland. Fourth, both ecosystem service perception and nature affinity had a significant and positive impact on payment intention, and further, ecosystem service perception mediated the impact of nature affinity on intention. This observation provides policymakers with enlightenment that measures to enhance urban residents’ nature affinity, are also effective in improving ecosystem service perception. Moreover, the average payment level of urban residents was 174.7CNY per year. If payment intention can be catalyzed into actual payment behavior, it expected to greatly contribute to the financing of greening action. These results can help policymakers better understand the sustainable path of farmland greening from the perspective of payment for ecosystem services.

Payments and penalties in ecosystem services programs

Payment for ecosystem services (PES) program contracts include penalties for non-performance to ensure that these programs receive the environmental benefits they have been paying for. The standard penalty structure in PES programs requires participants to pay back all program payments received if the contract is terminated before the end of the contract lifetime. We derive the optimal non-completion penalty structure, which decouples the penalty from payments received. In contrast to the backward-looking standard penalty, the optimal penalty is forward-looking and equals the principal's net future environmental benefits lost due to contract non-completion. The optimal penalty thus falls over the life of the contract, in contrast to the standard penalty, which rises over the life of the contract. A numerical policy simulation with heterogeneous agents based on features in federal agricultural conservation programs in the United States suggests that the optimal penalty structure can increase realized net environmental benefits significantly. Our results suggest that performance of most kinds of PES programs can be enhanced by decoupling non-completion penalties from payments and by adjusting how penalties vary over contract lifetimes.

습지보호지역의 지정에 따른 보상과 생태계서비스지불제 계약

The Wetland Conservation Act was enacted in 1999 as an implementation law of the Ramsar Convention to efficiently conserve and manage wetlands that are a treasure trove of biodiversity and have the function of purifying pollutants. Designation of wetland protection areas and restrictions on activities under the Wetland Conservation Act are inevitable regulations to achieve the public interest purpose of wetland conservation, but since a significant portion of Korea's inland wetlands are private land, it creates the problem of restrictions on the exercise of ownership rights for land owners. The Wetlands Conservation Act only recognizes the provision of compensation for losses suffered due to wetland surveys and the right to claim purchase by land owners. However, it is appropriate for Korea's Wetland Conservation Act to also establish a new regulation that recognizes claims for compensation in cases where land cannot be used for its original purpose due to designation as a wetland protection area or when the owner incurs property loss due to restrictions on land use.
 There is a need to expand the introduction of economic incentive policies that have the effect of improving the efficiency of environmental conservation policies or promoting innovation based on the voluntariness of economic actors. The introduction of the contract of payment for ecosystem service under the Biodiversity Act, which took effect in 2020, has the purpose of shifting the paradigm of environmental conservation from regulation-centered to incentive-based. In order for the contract of payment for ecosystem service to be activated in the future, supplementation or expansion is necessary in terms of contract recipients, contract target area, target business type, and contract period. Private landowners within wetland protection areas can alleviate or supplement problems such as restrictions on land ownership by signing an contract of payment for ecosystem service to create and manage wetlands and receive compensation. However, since this is a factual problem and not a fundamental legal solution, provisions such as compensation should be enacted in the Wetland Conservation Act.
 In addition, wetland conservation and management can be strengthened through contract of payment for ecosystem service, so active use of this is necessary. Since the limitations of wetland conservation management under the Wetland Conservation Act can be supplemented through contract of payment for ecosystem services under the Biological Diversity Act, there is a need to actively utilize contract of payment for ecosystem service. The contract of payment for ecosystem service can efficiently conserve and manage wetlands based on cooperation and active management activities with land owners.

Indigenous knowledge and natural infrastructure resilience to climate change in developing countries: a bibliometric analysis

It is widely recognized that natural infrastructure plays a pivotal role in sustaining Indigenous communities globally. Natural infrastructure encompasses ecosystems and environments that either occur naturally or have been deliberately altered through human intervention to provide multiple benefits for the environment and human wellbeing. While there has been extensive scholarly discussion regarding the importance of natural infrastructure in securing the livelihoods of Indigenous populations in developing nations and passing down their critical knowledge from one generation to another, the literature has not explicitly analyzed how Indigenous knowledge has facilitated the protection and conservation of natural infrastructure. Also, there has been limited analysis of the economic benefits of their conservation efforts. This article, utilizing bibliometric analysis as its methodological approach, aims to unpack how Indigenous knowledge has facilitated the protection and conservation of natural infrastructure. Several key themes emerged from this bibliometric analysis, including Indigenous governance strategies aimed at mitigating deforestation and addressing climate change and collective action taken to preserve natural infrastructure. Among others, a positive economic consequence of all three themes lies in their ability to improve the livelihood of Indigenous peoples by creating opportunities to receive payment for ecosystem services.

Citizens' willingness to support farmers’ adoption of low crude protein diet in pig production

Livestock farming has a detrimental effect on the environment since it generates a lot of gas emissions. In pig farming, the use of feed is among the substantial sources of animal farm emissions among the European Union. Nevertheless, the use of Low Dietary Crude Protein (LCP) may reduce the environmental impacts of pig farming and provide diverse ecosystem services (ESs). Concurrently, these pig diets alternatives may result more expensive than the conventional ones, which may negatively affect farmers' intention to adopt these alternatives. Citizens’ payment for ESs may be a viable strategy to motivate farmers to implement more sustainable pig diets. The primary objective of this study is to assess the extent to which citizens of Catalonia (Spain) are willing to pay for the ESs generated by the implementation of a LCP diet in pig production. In pursuit of this goal, we conducted an online survey among 501 citizens, including a Discrete Choice Experiment. Participants evaluated three feed scenarios, and their choices were scrutinized using conditional logit model. Results revealed that citizens prefer the new pig diets, including both LCP and Very LCP (VLCP) diets, over the conventional pig diet. However, there is a clear preference toward the VLCP diet justified by their willingness to pay (WTP) of €67/year/adult.

WATER GOVERNANCE: URBAN WATER CONSERVATION AS A RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE

This study aims to formulate recommendations for water conservation strategies through solving the causes of water scarcity. Through a qualitative approach, the study was conducted through a review of secondary data sourced from institutions related to the research topic, accompanied by an analysis review of relevant literatures. Secondary data obtained shows that the majority of urban communities choose boreholes/pumps and piped water as the main SAM for purposes other than drinking, while drinking is dominated by refill water. Among the strategies identified, NbS (Nature-based Solution) based on ecosystem strengthening and economic valuation through Payment for Ecosystem Service (PES) will support sustainable natural resource planning in urban areas by considering ecological aspects and community welfare. Sustainable water management in urban areas requires a synergy of driving factors such as policy formulation based on ecological sustainability, involvement of stakeholders with effective coordination, and community involvement in planning and management. Therefore, alignment of perceptions and goals between actors is required to achieve strategic steps and sustainable natural resource governance planning as an inevitable response to climate change.

Willing or Not? Rural Residents’ Willingness to Pay for Ecosystem Conservation in Economically Underdeveloped Regions: A Case Study in China’s Qinling National Park

Implementing payments for ecosystem service (PES) programs in national parks has proven effective in balancing the conflicts between ecosystem conservation and economic development, achieving long-term sustainability. Residents’ participation and financial contributions are crucial prerequisites for establishing PES programs in national parks. Hence, it is necessary to investigate residents’ willingness to participate in and pay before its official operation in China’s Qinling National Park. By adopting a contingent valuation method, this study collects 1431 face-to-face, one-to-one questionnaire answers from rural residents in the region. The results show that 76.7% of the sample are willing to participate in the ecosystem conservation of Qinling National Park, although their willingness to pay is relatively low, with the average being RMB 136.5 (USD 20.3) per household per year. Moreover, informal institutions maintained by social trust continue to play an essential role in this rural area. Residents’ willingness to participate is positively influenced by their social trust, which includes both institutional and interpersonal trust. Additionally, their willingness to pay is positively affected by their household income and cultural preferences. Finally, residents’ occupation as farmers exhibits a negative moderating effect on the direct influence of their household income on their willingness to pay, while their education level positively moderates the impact of their cultural preferences on their willingness to pay.

Effects of Payments for Ecosystem Services and Livelihoods on Non-Grain Agricultural Land Use

Non-grain agricultural land use (NGALU) could be an alternative to payments for ecosystem services (PES) to achieve ecosystem benefits, given their joint contribution to forest transition. Unraveling the correlation between PES and NGALU can enhance cost-effective decisions. While farmland abandonment and non-grain cash crops (NGCCs) plantation are two main manifestations of NGALU, previous studies have primarily assessed the effects of PES on farmland abandonment. Little is known about the effects of PES on NGCC planting. This study evaluated the effects of China’s two nationwide PES programs (i.e., the Grain to Green Program, GTGP, and the Ecological Welfare Forest Program, EWFP) on NGALU in the Black River Basin of Shaanxi province. The study found a wide adoption of NGALU, with 52% of households adopting NGALU. The total area of NGALU is more than half of the afforested area through the GTGP. A quarter of the NGALU area is abandoned farmland, while the remaining NGALU area is planted with NGCCs. The two PES programs did not have effects on NGCC planting, but reduced farmland abandonment. Engagement in labor migration and local non-farm employment increased NGALU, while livestock breeding and farmland area reduced NGALU. Furthermore, the large area and unfavorable geographical conditions of farmland parcels promoted NGALU. These results highlight the important implications of leveraging NGALU to boost ecological gains from conservation investments.

Impacts of rangeland ecological compensation on livelihood resilience of herdsmen: an empirical investigation in Qinghai Province, China

The increasing use of the payment for ecosystem services (PES) represents a prominent institutional shock triggered by external interventions on livelihoods of natural resource managers. To reconcile the needs for both conservation and development, a deep understanding on the influence mechanisms of PES on farmer livelihood resilience is paramount, particularly in dynamic and uncertain contexts. Taking the Rangeland Ecological Protection Subsidy and Reward scheme that has been implemented in pastoral China since 2011 as a case study, the paper empirically investigates the impacts of PES on livelihood resilience of livestock farmers in Qinghai Province. Based on a comprehensive evaluation of herder livelihood resilience from three dimensions—buffering, self-organizing and learning capacities, multiple linear regression was applied to examine the PES impacts. Resilience enhancement was mainly found in buffering capacity for herders with a medium to large herd size. Results of univariate parallel mediation models further reveal that household income growth and diversification and livestock upsizing were three key intermediary processes that mediated the enhancement and together contributed 28.83% of the total effect. The findings help narrow a knowledge gap in understanding whether, how and for whom PES contributes to improve farmer livelihood resilience. To achieve “win-win” outcomes, we stress that greater attention should be given to tailoring design and implementation of PES programs to align with the specificity of local contexts.

Mangrove community-based management in Eastern Africa: experiences from rural Mozambique

IntroductionThis study investigated a community-based management model in a mangrove-dependent community in central Mozambique and its adequacy as a management tool for conservation.MethodsSatellite images were used to map changes in mangrove cover between 1996 and 2017. Individual interviews and Focus Group Discussions were conducted with community members to understand the mangrove restoration processes and management models.Results and discussionAfter unsustainable exploitation that led to mangrove deforestation, the local community engaged in a restoration and management program that started in the late 1990s. Local norms were delineated by the Natural Resources Management Committee (NRMC) aiming at (1) reducing extractive uses by introducing alternative income generating activities; (2) awareness and mangrove planting and (3) law enforcement. Ten hectares of forest were rehabilitated. However, the management system fails to exclude illegal cutters and to enforce regulatory and sanctioning mechanisms, due to resource limitations. More involvement from government authorities and other stakeholders is needed to enhance law enforcement and explore opportunities for carbon trading, tourism and payment for ecosystem services. Additional recommendations are to develop a community management plan and create alternatives to mangrove products and income. Mangrove community-based management is increasingly advocated in many developing countries to promote sustainable utilization of resources and conservation. Understanding the reasons behind the limited success and lessons learnt at this site will guide similar programs elsewhere in Mozambique and other parts of the globe.

Analysis of forest environment transfer tax and prefectural policies: typology of prefectural support to municipalities in the initial phase from 2019 to 2021 in Japan

ABSTRACT The Forest Environment Transfer Tax (FETT), a scheme similar to Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), was introduced for Japanese forests at the national level in 2019 to address the challenges of climate change and promote management mainly in privately owned forests under the New Forest Management System (NFMS). Given insufficient human and financial resources, support by prefectures for municipalities is a key step forward, and we examined the policies of 47 prefectures. The study period is from 2019 to 2021. We conducted the following analysis: (1) categorization of prefectures by cluster analysis based on questionnaire surveys, and (2) quantitative analysis of the relationship between policy choices and characteristics of prefectures. Based on the analyses, we identified two typologies of prefectures based on policy selections and changes; (i) prefectures focused on specific policy items and (ii) those distributed the FETT budget relatively uniformly for each policy item, and further trends of changes based on temporal sequences in the early years of the scheme. The results suggest two further implications: geographical proximity among prefectures and the ratio of forestry production outputs among the overall outputs of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries may affect policy choices by prefectures, especially those of the former type of prefectures. The findings of this study can contribute to an understanding of the factors influencing policy choices in the context of PES-related schemes for forest management.

Tourism firms’ attitudes and willingness to contribute to payments for ecosystem services in tourism

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to contribute to the discussions of the role of tourism firms in maintaining important natural environments and cultural ecosystem services of a tourism destination. More precisely, this study explores the tourism firms’ attitudes and willingness to participate in safeguarding and maintaining cultural ecosystem services in a destination through a tourism-related local payments model, Landscape and Recreation Value Trade (LRVT), developed in the Ruka-Kuusamo area in Finland. Five main themes illustrating tourism firms’ attitudes towards LRVT and willingness to contribute to it were identified: benefits, concerns and challenges, implementation, characteristics of a firm, and need for raising awareness. Based on the findings many of the expressed benefits and challenges of LRVT originate from and are connected to evaluating the impacts on the competitiveness of the firm and the competitive advantages for the destination. The study brings insight into the planning, design, and implementation of voluntary tourism-related payment schemes for ecosystem services, and discusses their potential to enhance ecological conservation, support the local economy, and serve as an incentive for private firms to act in a more sustainable manner.

Agricultural subsidies: cutting into forest conservation?

Abstract We examine how agricultural subsidies may induce deforestation and interact with conservation programs by analyzing two large-scale national programs in Mexico that have existed simultaneously for more than a decade: an agricultural subsidy for livestock (PROGAN) and a program of payments for ecosystem services (PES). Looking across the entire Mexican landscape, we exploit the surprises in the timing of enrollment in PROGAN's waves, fluctuations in program payments, and the change in the value of the subsidy induced by inflation and currency fluctuations to identify the impacts of the livestock subsidy on environmental outcomes. We find that PROGAN increased municipal deforestation by 7 per cent. The deforestation effects of PROGAN were smaller in municipalities with higher concentrations of PES recipients. We suggest that livestock subsidies could be better targeted to places with low deforestation risk and high livestock productivity to maximize food production and minimize negative externalities caused by deforestation.