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Taking stock: a comparative analysis of payments for environmental services programs in developed and developing countries
Wunder, S., Engel, S., & Pagiola, S. 2008.
Ecological Economics 65 (4): 834-852.
Abstract
Payments for Environmental Service (PES) programs is an innovative approach to
conservation that has been applied increasingly often in both developed and
developing countries. To date, however, few efforts have been made to
systematically compare PES experiences. Drawing on the wealth of case studies in
this Special Issue, we synthesize the information presented, according to case
characteristics with respect to design, costs, environmental effectiveness, and
other outcomes. PES programs often differ substantially one from the other. Some
of the differences reflect adaptation of the basic concept to very different
ecological, socioeconomic, or institutional conditions; others reflect poor
design, due either to mistakes or to the need to accommodate political
pressures. We find significant differences between user-financed PES programs,
in which funding comes from the users of the ES being provided, and
government-financed programs, in which funding comes from a third party. The
user-financed programs in our sample were better targeted, more closely tailored
to local conditions and needs, had better monitoring and a greater willingness
to enforce conditionality, and had far fewer confounding side-objectives than
government-financed programs. We finish by outlining some perspectives on how
both user- and government-financed PES programs could be made more effective and
cost-efficient.
Keywords: Payments for environmental services, incentive mechanisms,
conservation, ecosystem services
Note: For further information about this publications, please contact
the corresponding author, Dr. Sven Wunder (s.wunder@cgiar.org)
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En español
