Payment for ecosystem services (PES): a holistic tool for sustainable forest management-a case study from Pakistan

Economic valuation of ecosystem services is a new concept in forest management. Economic valuation provides basis for payment for ecosystem services (PES). Therefore, objective of this study was to evaluate eco-tourism and carbon stock services of the Maindam valley, District Swat, Pakistan. For the carbon stock calculation, a sample size of 155 plots of 0.1 hectare (Ha) was taken using preliminary survey at 95% confidence interval and 10% allowable error. The data for tourism services was collected from owners of all the hotels, 100 tourists and key informants of the area at 10% sampling intensity on pretested questionnaire for twenty years period (1997-2017). Results showed that Miandam valley has carbon stock worth US$ 16,306,000 while the value of eco-tourism was US$ 1,578,458 on annual basis. The results also showed that trend of tourism has drastically declined after the 9/11 incident for foreigners and locals and the situation was further deteriorated during the era of Talibanization or militancy from 2008-2011. This study recommends implementation of PES strategy at the rate of 5%, thus a total of US$ 78,922 can be earned from eco-tourism and carbon crediting in the study area annually, which could play important role in sustainable forest management.

Three Barriers to Effective Programs with Payment for Ecosystem Services: Behavioral Responses in a Computer-Based Experiment

Financial incentives in the form of payment for ecosystem services (PES) can encourage participation in voluntary conservation programs, but real-world experience with PES is limited for services such as the provision of endangered species habitats. A computer-based laboratory experiment with 139 US college students as subjects suggests there are three barriers to effective PES programs: (1) financial rewards can crowd out altruism—low-level PES in the experiment was less effective than the same program without PES; (2) landowners may assuage guilt over destroying habitats by making contributions to ineffective conservation programs—participants often paired destruction of habitat with token contributions to conservation efforts; and (3) landowners may strategically exit conservation agreements in ways that are detrimental to wildlife—a large proportion of participants chose to leave agreements and destroy habitats when the PESs were structured without credible deterrence of an early exit. Fortunately, the results of the experiment also suggest research to overcome these barriers by ensuring that PES financial incentives are scaled and structured to effectively promote conservation. The lessons from this study—though they issue from the particular context of this experiment—provide suggestions about how to structure benefit sharing schemes that could be used to promote conservation in a range of settings.

The Challenges of Managing Water for Wetland Ecology, Flood Mitigation and Agriculture in the Upper Lunan Water, an Intensive Arable Catchment in Scotland

The “Water for All” project has aimed to develop a multi-disciplinary science case for adaptive management through a Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) scheme in the Lunan Water, a lowland catchment in Scotland. Management needs for high and low flows, standing water levels and flow routing to/from high nature value mesotrophic wetlands were appraised. A key part has been the development of a real time hydrological-hydraulic model of the upper Lunan Water as an aid to management and scenario analysis especially with respect to existing and potential hydraulic structures. This provides better working knowledge and forecast-based simulations of high or low flow situations for catchment management planners, farmers, riparian owners and other local stakeholders. Engagement with local users and residents has included surveying Willingness To Pay (WTP) for hydraulic management as a function of governance mechanisms, development of a catchment management group , and interviews and workshops with riparian and other land-users. The work has highlighted the joys and sorrows of seeking to develop a PES approach and lessons to be learnt in project management, promotion of multiple benefits, catchment-scale water governance and the vices and virtues of “benign neglect”.

Identification of Key Components of Payment For Ecosystem Services (Pes) Mechanism In Begnas Lake Watershed of Pokhara-Lekhnath Metropolitan City, Nepal

Payment for Ecosystem Service (PES) scheme for certain ecosystem services is being used as a mechanism to provide incentive to suppliers of the services by the beneficiaries. In Nepal, PES like schemes is in practice since a long time, though the discussions on formal PES schemes have recently been started. This study has been carried out at Begnas Lake Watershed (BWS), a Ramsar site, at Pokhara-Lekhnath Metropolitan of Nepal. It aims to understand the perception of local residents towards the implementation of PES scheme in BWS. Furthermore, it also identifies key actors for PES implementation at BWS, their role in PES design and implementation as well as potential payment mechanism for the ecosystem services within the PES scheme at BWS. Finally, institutional structure for PES design and implementation is also presented. The study finds positive perception of local people towards initiating payment mechanism for the use of ecosystem services to ensure environmental conservation and sustainable management of the resources. Both upstream and downstream population favors mix of public/private PES scheme while upstream population favors cash-payment type scheme and downstream population favors the capacity building of upstream communities in conservation efforts. It is also noted that upstream people favor input-based mode of payment and downstream people are inclined towards output-based payments. The study found some ‘PES-like’ practices operational in the watershed. The study recommends the formation of ‘Begnas Watershed PES Advisory and Coordination Committee’ with due participation of identified stakeholders to initiate and institutionalize formal PES mechanism at BWS.

Territory, Private Authority, and Rights

Sustainability certification initiatives seek to harness the power of transnational corporations to reform environmentally damaging practices around the world. This amounts to a kind of de-territorialized authority that governs through global markets rather than nation-states. Yet in certifying land and reforming its uses, sustainable agriculture and forestry initiatives confront a resource that is deeply tied to state sovereignty while potentially also being claimed by Indigenous peoples. This chapter asks what happens as transnational sustainability standards meet the nationally rooted and contested governance of land. It examines the place of “free and prior informed consent” for the use of Indigenous land in the leading sustainable agriculture and forestry initiatives, and it highlights the significance of the state and civil society through a brief comparison of forest certification in Indonesia and China. Further research should look not only within the world of sustainability standards but also to parallel questions about land rights in projects focused on timber legality and payment for ecosystem services.