Paying for Environmental Services: An Analysis of Participation in Costa Rica’s PSA Program

Zbinden, Simon; Lee, David R.

doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2004.07.012

Cited by 328 publications

(224 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…For instance, in Costa Rica's forest conservation PES scheme, payments were found to go disproportionately to farmers with higher levels of education, wealth and farm size Zbinden and Lee, 2005). Most assessments of equity limit their focus to the distribution of benefits, and sometimes, costs.…”

Section: Contextual Equitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the relative weighting among the three goals is extrinsic to the framework, it can help analyse such trade-offs and clarify their consequences. For example, delivering land-based ecosystem services requires access to land, thereby excluding the landless from such PES schemes; delivering such services most efficiently favours participation by larger landowners, with predictable consequences for local equity (Grieg-Gran et al, 2005;Zbinden and Lee, 2005).…”

Section: Not By Equity Alone: Effectiveness and Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Examining equity: A multidimensional framework for assessing equity in payments for ecosystem services

McDermott

Mahanty

Schreckenberg

2013

Environmental Science & Policy

483

459

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Concern over social equity dominates current debates about payments for ecosystem services and reduced deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). Yet, despite the apprehension that these initiatives may undermine equity, the term is generally left undefined. This paper presents a systematic framework for the analysis of equity that can be used to examine how local equity is affected as the global value of ecosystem services changes. Our framework identifies three dimensions that form the content (the what) of equity. The first, distributive equity, addresses the distribution of benefits and costs. The second, procedural equity, refers to decision-making. These are linked by the third dimension, contextual equity, which incorporates the pre-existing conditions that limit or facilitate people's access to decision-making procedures, resources and, thereby, benefits.The framework then asks how these dimensions are shaped by the scale and target group of concern (who), the framing of goals with respect to equity (why), and, crucially, how the decisions about the content, target and aims of equity are taken. By spurring debate around the fundamental ethical values at stake, this framework can guide analysts, policymakers and planners towards more open and inclusive processes for defining equity, along with affirmative efforts to engage marginalised people.

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Section: Contextual Equitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Not By Equity Alone: Effectiveness and Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining equity: A multidimensional framework for assessing equity in payments for ecosystem services

McDermott

Mahanty

Schreckenberg

2013

Environmental Science & Policy

483

459

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…This regression analysis is based on the maximization of an underlying utility function that is assumed to be consistent with individual household behavior (Zbinden and Lee 2005). The model characterizing willingness to change land use is specified as:…”

Section: Surveymentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender influences decisions to change land use practices in the tropical forest margins of Jambi, Indonesia

Villamor

Amaruzaman

Noordwijk

2013

Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change

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This study explores the role of gender as a factor in decision making about alternative land use options and in responses to new investment opportunities, which has received little attention to date. An observational study to determine the different factors affecting male and female decisions to change land use at the individual level in a forest margin landscape in Jambi (Sumatra, Indonesia) was combined with a set of role playing games (RPGs) designed to assess participant responses in a simulated social setting of women-only and men-only groups. The RPG included simulated agents offering new opportunities to convert or conserve agroforest. In the study area, rubber (Hevea braziliensis) agroforests that support high biodiversity and carbon storage are giving way to monoculture rubber and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) plantations. When women from both the upland and lowland villages played the RPGs, external investors proposing logging or oil palm conversion were approached very positively and the resulting land use change was more dynamic and extensive than in the equivalent men-only groups. Consequently, women outperformed men in achieving income targets. In lowland areas gender is strongly associated with land use change, while in the uplands the level of conservation awareness plays a more crucial role in the maintenance of rubber agroforests. Based on the data, and contrary to expectations and gender stereotypes, it is expected that the greater involvement of women in landscape level decision making will increase emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in the area, posing further challenges to efforts to reduce such emissions.

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“…Miranda et al (2003) also found that the main beneficiaries of PES schemes in the Virilla watershed are wealthy landholders. In general, the national program for PES in Costa Rica mainly favors welleducated, high-income and urban-dwellers (reliant on off-farm activities) and large landholders (Zbinden and Lee, 2005). The average income of users in Heredia is also considerably higher than in Jesus de Otoro (see Table 6).…”

Section: Quantitative Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Payments for environmental services in watersheds: Insights from a comparative study of three cases in Central America

Kosoy

Martinez-Tuna

Muradian

et al. 2007

Ecological Economics

351

182

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We have compared two cases of payments for environmental (hydrological) services (PES) in Central America, in terms of socioeconomic background, opportunity costs of forest conservation and stakeholders' perceptions on the conditions of water resources and other water-related issues. We found that, in general, the forgone benefits from land uses alternative to forest cover are larger that the amount of the payment, which contradicts the economic foundation of PES schemes. A number of possible explanations are explored. The results suggest that trade-offs between different environmental and social goals are likely to emerge in PES schemes, which poses some doubts on their ability to be multipurpose instruments for environmental improvement and rural development. We also found that PES schemes may work as a conflict-resolution instrument, facilitating the interaction between downstream and upstream stakeholders.

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Paying for Environmental Services: An Analysis of Participation in Costa Rica’s PSA Program

Cited by 328 publications

References 26 publications

Examining equity: A multidimensional framework for assessing equity in payments for ecosystem services

Examining equity: A multidimensional framework for assessing equity in payments for ecosystem services

Gender influences decisions to change land use practices in the tropical forest margins of Jambi, Indonesia

Payments for environmental services in watersheds: Insights from a comparative study of three cases in Central America

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