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PAYMENTS for WATERSHED SERVICES: Building on pilot experiences to mainstream a tool for sustainable conservation and development
International Meeting at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Conference Centre, Como, Italy.
March 12 - 17 2007
Organized by Fundación Natura Bolivia, IIED, Centre for International Forestry
Research and EcoFund Ecuador.
 Demand for water for domestic consumption and agriculture is increasing
around the world. However, as human-induced pressures increase, watersheds are
providing services of decreasing quality and quantity. Direct, contingent
incentive mechanisms for watershed management have emerged in recent years, and
there is sustained hope that such “payments for watershed services” (PWS)
schemes may have the potential to significantly improve watershed services, and
at the same time to protect biodiversity and reduce poverty in the upper
sections of many watersheds.
While there has thus been much talk about PWS, and many discussions about
what such schemes may or may not achieve, there has been little systematic
analysis of the real experiences of those involved in trying to set up or run
such schemes and to what extent such PWS experiences have actually been shown to
contribute to environmental protection and poverty reduction. There is thus much
still to do to develop understanding on:
Where and how PWS schemes, alone or in combination with other
interventions, constitute an adequate response to watershed-related
environmental problems Where and how PWS schemes could most help to reduce poverty When PWS is a desirable tool, how to overcome the sometimes overwhelming
social and cultural opposition to direct economic incentive mechanisms for
natural resource management How to identify and design cost-efficient research required to ensure that
PWS schemes are initiated with an appropriate scientific basis How to reduce transaction costs, and How to most efficiently involve government and donors in PWS schemes – and
at what stage and level
A select group of 23 experts spent five days at the Rockefeller Foundation’s
Bellagio Conference Center near Como, Italy drawing lessons and practical
guidance from actually implemented PWS schemes—in Bolivia, China, Costa Rica,
Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States. The
objective of the meeting was to develop key elements for a “how-to” guide for
payments for watershed services (PWS) initiatives that will enable implementers
to:
1. Efficiently take on board the lessons of global PWS experiences to
date;
2. Understand the minimum requirements needed to implement a PWS scheme;
3. Undertake the minimum baseline research required for PWS
sustainability; and
4. Make informed choices in designing sustainable PWS schemes producing
desirable environmental and welfare-oriented outcomes.
The conclusions reached on these issues have been synthesised into
a report
edited by the two main organisers of the workshop, Nigel Asquith, of Fundación
Natura Bolivia (nigelasquith@naturabolivia.org), and Sven Wunder of CIFOR (s.wunder@cgiar.org).
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En español
