Payment for ecosystem services: possible instrument for managing ecosystem services in Nepal

Abstract

Payment for ecosystem services (PESs) is part of a new and more direct conservation and management paradigm explicitly recognizing: (1) the need to bridge the interests of communities connected by ecosystems, (2) the costs of securing and maintaining the provision of different ecosystem services and (3) that those who benefit from these services need to pay for these costs. While discussions on the potential of PES are becoming more frequent, Nepal lacks concrete policies and an umbrella legislative framework at the national, sub-national, and institutional levels to operationalize PES. A lack of vertical and horizontal coordination among government departments and agencies often creates problems at the implementation level. This paper discusses PES as a possible instrument to finance ecosystem management in Nepal, based on lessons learned from various ongoing PES-type schemes. We review a number of such schemes based on the available literature and key informant surveys in selected PES pilot sites. We argue that PES experience in Nepal remains limited and is as yet insufficient as basis for mainstreaming. We recommend that (1) existing schemes need to be monitored to analyze challenges and effectiveness, and (2) such analyses should be carried out simultaneously with informing the national policy dialog to support the debate on implementing PES for sustainable ecosystem management.

Participatory assessment and mapping of ecosystem services in a data-poor region: Case study of community-managed forests in central Nepal

“…There is the potential to generate income from those services and improve the rural economy through measures such as payments for ecosystem services (Bhatta et al, 2014). The livelihoods of local communities depend primarily on the supply of ES (Birch et al, 2014;FAO, 2013).…”

Strategies for the promotion of the forest-wood chain in Calabria (southern Italy): the stakeholders’ point of view

“…Attualmente risultano accreditati nove centri nell'ambito dell'educazione ambientale, formazione, animazione e progettazione territoriale, informazione e comunicazione (DGR n.592 del 6 settembre 2010). Il pagamento per i servizi ecosistemici (A12, PES) può essere considerata, a detta di diversi autori, una soluzione al fallimento dei mercati in quanto consente di internalizzare le esternalità ambientali e al contempo di evitare comportamenti da free-rider legati alla natura pubblica dei servizi ecosistemici delle foreste (Schomers & Matzdorf 2013, Bhatta et al 2014. L'obiettivo primario dei PES è quello di compensare i proprietari forestali per la produzione di questi servizi ecosistemici generati attraverso una gestione attiva dei boschi e incorporare il valore economico di questi servizi nelle decisioni (Arriagada & Perrings 2009).…”

Financing Watershed Services in the Foothills of the Himalayas

“…This proposed institutional mechanism builds on a similar arrangement in Dhulikhel municipality, where local water management committees, involving upstream farmers and city residents, support water supply management [17]. PES schemes are also being tested in other areas in Nepal [10,57].…”

“…However, in some countries, such as Nepal and Mexico, community-based resource management is a dominant conservation strategy. In such cases, it makes sense to make payments to communities [16,17]. Community-held property rights may also offer some scale-economies (similar to government-financed programs) and reduce transaction costs [7].…”