Payments for Ecosystem Services—the Case of Forests

Abstract

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) is a trending topic in environmental resource management. The literature on PES has been growing almost exponentially, and practical applications of PES schemes are mushrooming all around the world. In this review article, I present the existing definitions of PES, the factors to consider during the design and implementation stages of PES programs, as well as discuss the recent theoretical debates related to PES in the literature-specifically those related to commodification and legitimacy of PES, its behavioral implications as well as the issues of power and equity. Despite a wealth of accumulated knowledge in the theoretical and experimental fields related to PES, there is still a considerable lack of empirical studies assessing the practical implementation of PES in the field. Only a few schemes are actually systematically assessed, and there is still a lack of a unified comprehensive framework for the thorough evaluation of existing practical experiences. I outline some of the future research challenges that need to be tackled in order to gain a better understanding of the opportunities that the PES mechanism offers to environmental policy makers and other interested stakeholders.

Payments for Forest Ecosystem Services Across Europe – Main Approaches and Examples from Slovakia

“…PFES received a lot of academic attention in the past years (Schomers, Matzdrof, 2013;Prokofieva, 2016). Different PFES schemes have been developed across Europe to address problems with ensuring the provision of FES, nature conservation, biodiversity, water quality and other environmental concerns.…”

“…Understanding how PES mechanisms work in theory and in practice, and knowing their limitations, is crucial for exploiting their full potential as a policy tool for solving complex environmental problems we are confronted with (Prokofieva, 2016). The mechanism of the PES scheme is based on the amount of the payment as shown in Figure 1.…”

“…Financial instruments are designed to modify behaviour by encouraging private individuals, organisations and businesses to actively participate in supporting ecosystem services (Raitanen et al, 2013). Conceptualising the schemes for the payments for ecosystem services (PES) is becoming an increasingly popular way to manage ecosystems using market-based incentives (Farley, Constanza 2010;Gómez-Baggethun, Muradian, 2015;Prokofieva, 2016). The core idea of PES is simple; users or beneficiaries of these services (Prokofieva, 2016) pay landowners or forest managers for the provision of certain ecosystem services or for a particular forest management strategy for generating the desired ES.…”

“…Conceptualising the schemes for the payments for ecosystem services (PES) is becoming an increasingly popular way to manage ecosystems using market-based incentives (Farley, Constanza 2010;Gómez-Baggethun, Muradian, 2015;Prokofieva, 2016). The core idea of PES is simple; users or beneficiaries of these services (Prokofieva, 2016) pay landowners or forest managers for the provision of certain ecosystem services or for a particular forest management strategy for generating the desired ES. Recently, a number of studies have been developed across Europe to map operation of PES schemes (Bösch et al, 2018;Smith et al, 2017;OECD, 2010;IUCN, 2009;UNECE, 2005UNECE, , 2014.…”

A Multifactorial Approach to Value Supporting Ecosystem Services in Spanish Forests and Its Implications in a Warming World

“…At a local level, landowners face many challenges maintaining forests, and stakeholders usually do not have adequate payment tools based on objective procedures. In addition, the payment for forest carbon sequestration constitutes a financial recognition for forest owners that might help to sustain forests in the long-term (see e.g., Reference [27]) and contribute to the Paris goals at the local level.…”