Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES)

Todo proceso de apropiación de los recursos naturales involucra la interacción de distintos agentes sociales a partir de la ejecución de determinadas prácticas de apropiación, entendidas éstas últimas como los usos, formas de acceso y aprovechamiento del territorio y los recursos naturales que en él existen. Todos estos elementos están regulados por instituciones de jure o de facto que la sociedad genera, recrea y transforma a lo largo del tiempo, dando forma y contenido a las distintas manifestaciones de la propiedad. Analizar conjuntamente estos elementos permite poner de manifiesto el poder relativo de los actores sociales y políticos respecto al control de los recursos naturales y en los procesos de toma de decisiones vinculados al uso y aprovechamiento de los recursos naturales.
La presente obra analiza el proceso de apropiación de la tierra, el agua y el bosque en una comunidad agraria, que formuló un proyecto local de compensación por servicios ambientales a partir de las necesidades particulares de la región. La puesta en marcha de este proyecto, muestra la dinámica de manejo y aprovechamiento de los recursos naturales a nivel local, los que pueden entrar en contradicción con los marcos legales generales en materia de propiedad de recursos naturales estratégicos como el agua.

Este documento revisa una gran variedad de instrumentos que se pueden usar para inducir
cambios en los usos de recursos naturales con el fin de alinear los intereses de actores
locales con otros intereses que también son afectados por estos usos. Los instrumentos se
agrupan en cinco categorías principales: 1) Oportunidades para la conservación voluntaria
sobre tierras privadas, 2) Proyectos Integrados de Conservación y Desarrollo, 3) Pagos para
Servicios Ambientales, 4) Conservación por Mandamientos Legislativos, y 5) Herramientas
Indirectas.
El menú completo incluye decenas de diferentes herramientas, pero la manera más barata
de promover la conservación sobre tierra que todavía está inaccesible y en un estado
prístino simplemente es no hacer proyectos de ningún tipo – no construir caminos, no
proveer servicios básicos, ni siquiera pagar para la conservación. Este obviamente va muy
en contra de otras políticas prioritarias como la reducción de la pobreza y el desarrollo
humano y no es suficiente para tierras que ya están en un proceso de degradación. Sin
embargo, es posible hacerlo en áreas específicas que son muy importantes para los servicios
ambientales, asegurándose que la población local tiene la opción de trasladarse a lugares
alternativos que mejor atienden a sus necesidades.
Esto significa que el ordenamiento territorial y el manejo de la migración se vuelvan una de
las tareas más importantes para las políticas de conservación con desarrollo. Aplicando una
combinación de instrumentos repulsivos en algunas áreas y atractivos en otras, se puede
asegurar que la gente se establezca donde ocasionan menor daño al medio ambiente y
donde tengan más posibilidades para hacer actividades productivas que contribuyan al
bienestar de su familia y al desarrollo del país.
Otro tema sumamente importante para la conservación con desarrollo humano es el de
títulos de tierra, ya que la falta de títulos causa muchos efectos adversos, no solamente para
la conservación sino también para el desarrollo. La titulación también es un instrumento
que se puede aplicar para dirigir la migración.

Market-based conservation instruments, such as Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES), have become a dominant paradigm for environmental policies. Despite their broad endorsement, the implementation of PES schemes often rests on deep-seated power asymmetries and, therefore, risks reproducing existing inequalities. Thus, examination of PES should include how these schemes are constructed and negotiated between different actors, explicitly recognising their varying social positions, value frameworks and conflicting or collaborative relations. In this article we present a 'PES simulation game' as an alternative methodology to enhance understanding of complex negotiations between diverse actors involved in Ecosystem Services (ES) governance. The game mimics historical processes of agrarian change and social differentiation, simulates a range of ES governance interventions, and creates space for participants to collectively reflect on the motivational and socio-political dynamics triggered by the interventions. We discuss some of the main game dynamics as well as reflections generated by the game while examining a PES intervention in the Nicaraguan agricultural frontier. We illustrate the game's potential for improving understanding of farmers' constraints in decision-making processes and of the ways in which patron-client relationships within divergent value systems interact with specific ES governance interventions.

Ecuador has experienced one of the highest rates of deforestation in South America over the turn of the century with consequent threats to the provision of essential life-supporting environmental services. The Ecuadorian government instituted the ‘Socio Bosque Program’ (PSB) in 2008 in an effort to incentivize the conservation of privately-owned native forests. This study is the first to examine PSB additionality in preventing deforestation through use of a geographic information system. Moreover, face-to-face surveys were conducted and analyzed to create a typology of forest owners based on their estimated likelihood to engage in forest land changes and elicit corresponding preferences for PSB-like forest conservation program participation. The survey data were collected from individual Ecuadorian forest owners in the Western region of the province of Pichincha. We estimate that less than 1% of forestland enrolled in the PSB would have been deforested were it not enrolled in the program. Landowners more likely to engage in deforestation practices denoted greater interest in participating in a conser- vation program when contracts allowed for the sustainable harvesting of timber. Landowners likely to conserve, showed greater interest in participating in a conservation program contingent on the amount of financial incen- tive provided. A design strategy, counter to the traditional focus, points to the allowance of sustainable forest har- vesting, as a means of more effectively preventing deforestation in the Tropics.

Neoliberal conservation describes a dynamic wherein prominent organizations around the world concerned with biodiversity protection have increasingly adopted strategies and mechanisms that seek to reconcile conservation with economic development by harnessing economic markets as putative mechanisms for financing nature conservation. Since the turn of the millennium, a vibrant discussion around this topic has arisen across anthropology, geography, and related fields. Within this discussion, the rise of neoliberal conservation is generally treated as part of more widespread processes of neoliberalization occurring throughout the global economy since the 1980s, promoting a constellation of core principles including privatization, marketization, decentralization, deregulation, and commodification. Neoliberal conservation arose out of a growing concern among prominent conservation organizations to include poverty reduction and economic development within their mandates as well as to capture additional funding via partnerships with wealthy corporations. It is commonly implemented through a series of so-called market-based instruments (MBIs), including ecotourism, payment for environmental services (PES), and biodiversity and wetlands banking, as well as financial mechanisms such as green bonds.
However, evidence suggests that promotion of neoliberal conservation rarely achieves intended outcomes in actual implementation. This has led some researchers to argue that these activities are thus not neoliberal at all, while others defend this characterization within an understanding of neoliberalization as a variegated process. Researchers also point to the rise of right-wing authoritarianism as a potential challenge to neoliberal hegemony, yet the implications of this trend for conservation policy and practice remain little explored. Thus, the important open question is raised of whether neoliberal conservation was the product of a particular political era that is coming to an end, and if so, what will arise in its aftermath.

Un nuovo paradigma che ponga l’ambiente come fattore propulsivo dello sviluppo richiede di essere “messo alla prova” nelle aree rurali, che per prime hanno subito gli effetti ambientali negativi del processo di industrializzazione. La conversione dei terreni agricoli da estensivi e diversificati ad intensivi e monocolturali, meglio conosciuta come Rivoluzione Verde, ha determinato sia la distruzione dei livelli di diversità biologica, dalla quale dipende il complesso dei benefici ambientali, sia la disintegrazione del sistema socio-economico delle comunità rurali.
Ciononostante, la campagna conserva ancora il suo ruolo cardine per la società da una peculiare prospettiva alimentare, ecologica e culturale, legata ai servizi agro-ecosistemici che sono il prodotto delle pratiche agricole custodite nella memoria del patrimonio contadino.
Per incentivare il recupero delle tecniche di coltivazione tradizionale o, più in generale, la tutela dell’ambiente nell’agricoltura, il diritto nazionale ha mosso i primi passi verso la valutazione economica dei servizi agroecosistemici e la regolazione di strumenti di mercato atti a remunerare i loro produttori.
Il presente contributo intende, così: esaminare le disposizioni nazionali in materia, focalizzandosi, in particolare, sul sistema dei pagamenti dei servizi ecosistemici (PES dall’inglese), alla cui attuazione contribuiscono gli “esperimenti” della Politica Agricola Comune (PAC); riflettere sui possibili sviluppi futuri della normativa, ponendo l’accento sull’importanza della considerazione giuridica delle collettività locali a presidio dei benefici ambientali per il progresso dello spazio rurale.

A new paradigm which places the environment as a driving force in the development needs “to be challenged” in the rural areas, which firstly suffered the negative environmental effects of the industrialization process.
The conversion of the agricultural lands from extensive and diversified to intensive and monocultural, better known as Green Revolution, destroyed the biodiversity and the socio-economic system of the rural community.
However, the countryside still has its fundamental role for society from a particular food, ecological and cultural perspective, linked to the agroecosystem services, products of agricultural practices preserved in the memory of the rural heritage.
To incentive the recovery of traditional cultivation techniques or, more generally, the environmental protection in agriculture, the national legislation is moving toward the economic valuation of agro-ecosystem services and the regulation of market instruments to remunerate their producers.
So, the present work aims: to examine the national provisions about the economic quantification and the remuneration of the agro-ecosystem services, focusing, in particular, on the payments system (PES), implemented through the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) “experiments”; to think about the possible future developments of the legislation, highlighting the importance of local communities in the environmental benefits production.

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) defines ecosystem services as the benefits that humans receive from the nature, such as clean water, food, fiber, wood, timber, medicinal herbs, leaf-litters, bush meat, groundwater recharge, flood mitigation and climate regulation. Ecosystem services and human well-being are linked together, and the socio-economic factors mediate the linkage. Baghmara Buffer Zone Community Forest of Chitwan National Park (CNP) lies in Bachhauli Village Development Committee (VDC) of Chitwan District, Nepal. This study is based on review of available literature, records, statistical documents as well as online database of publications.. It suggests PES could be a best mechanism for conservation financing if planned in a way and guided by expert agencies.  Community Development works of BBZCF has instigated ownership for forest & wildlife conservation among communities. Community now believes that more benefits can be accrued from conservation of forest than from its destruction. Though there are different types of ecosystem services, the concerns are focused on only recreational and aesthetic services. More concerns should be given to various regulating services like carbon sequestration which could be prominent source of extra income. This Buffer Zone Community forest has not only reduced the burden of tourist inflow at Chitwan National Park but has been proved prominent source of income to finance conservation and community development.

This Continuous Assessment (CA) is part of module Global Transaction, Banking and Payment Systems (Duane, 2015). The topic chosen for this CA is ‘Ripple protocol’ and its role in developing a banking payment system in regards to other acknowledged systems out there.  First there is a literature overview of future of financial systems lead by new guidelines and legislations, as a result of last crisis, environment concern and information communication technology (ICT) influence on finance-banking sector.  With explanation of virtual currencies and their terms for better understanding of the Ripple protocol and how it works and who is it made for to use.  Second there is discussion on different most used systems (SWIFT, Bitcoin, and Ripple). And third is made a conclusion of the role of Ripple and the systems discussed and overview of literature on financial systems.


Key words: Ripple protocol, XRP, transaction network, digital currency, FX.

En este estudio se evaluaron las principales condiciones económicas y legal-institucionales para que el PSA sea viable a los usuarios de la tierra en la Amazonia peruana. Económicamente PSA son viables cuando los beneficiarios de servicios ambientales estén dispuestos a pagar lo suficiente para cubrir los costos que implicaría la adopción de prácticas de uso de la tierra que resultarían en mayores niveles de servicios ambientales.

Perkembangan teknologi tak di pungkiri ikut mengubah kebiasaan masyarakat, termasuk dalam aktivitas keuangan. Dengan teknologi saat ini, masyarakat bisa memilih beragam layanan keuangan yang mudah dan cepat. Bahkan cukup memakai alat telekomunikasi masyarakat tidak perlu beranjak. Karya ilmiah ini bertujuan untuk memberi masukan dan pertimbangan teknis kepada Anggota Dewan Gubernur dalam pengambilan langkah dan kebijakan strategis untuk menyikapi dinamika situasi terkini, yaitu untuk mengarahkan industri agar mampu bergerak efisien; mendorong iklim yang kondusif bagi sistem pembayaran dan penyelesaian transaksi keuangan; serta memperkuat perlindungan konsumen, dengan tetap berprinsip kepada kepentingan nasional.
Karya tulis ilmiah ini merupakan suatu literature study (hasil telaah pustaka) yang mengacu pada bukti-bukti empiris (laporan penelitian sebelumnya), buku serta informasi dan fakta aktual hasil dari suatu action research. Action Research merupakan suatu upaya untuk mempelajari masalah-masalah yang muncul yang bertujuan untuk mengarahkan, mengkoreksi, dan mengevaluasi keputusan-keputusan dan tindakan-tindakan organisasi tersebut. Peningkatan kualitas pendidikan menjadi salah satu strategi kunci dalam meningkatkan penetrasi layanan. Implementasinya perlu mempertimbangkan persepsi masyarakat tentang Gerakan Nasional Non Tunai (GNNT), terutama mengenai faktor-faktor yang masih menjadi penghambat dalam penetrasi GNNT. Tantangan terberat adalah bagaimana meningkatkan penetrasi TIK di masyarakat berpenghasilan rendah yang masih merupakan mayoritas di Indonesia.

Concept of ecosystem services has been gaining enormous popularity after the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), 2005. Identification of ecosystem services is crucial to estimate economic values of ecosystems and calculate monetary benefits or loses against its destruction, modification or restoration. Payment for Ecosystem Service (PES) scheme for certain ecosystem service is being used as a mechanism to provide incentive to supplers of the services by the beneficiaries. In Nepal, PES like schemes are in practice since a long time; though the discussions on formal PES schemes have recently been started.
This study has been carried out at Begnas Lake Watershed (BWS), a Ramsar site, at Pokhara-Lekhnath Metropolitan of Nepal. It aims to identify the principle types of ecosystem services on the categories of ecosystem services provided by MEA i.e. provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural services and prioritize them. It also aims to fulfill the knowledge gap on total economic value of Begnas Lake Watershed by estimating it and ouline key components of PES for the watershed. Market Price Method (MPM), Travel Cost Method (TCM), Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) and Benefit Transfer Method (BTM)  has been used to estimate its economic value. The study identifies variety of provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural services of BWS. Recreation and ecotourism service has been prioritized most important followed by erosion control, fishing and irrigation, ground water recharge and discharge and habit for worldlife. The total economic value of BWS has been calculated to be US$ 9,744,539 year-1 and potential economic value of US$ 89,586,772. Recreational and aesthetic service is valued highest with annual value of US$ 8,592,863.
The key components of PES have been outlined based on perception of upstream and downstream communities. The willingness to pay (WTP) of watershed residents and beneficiary groups suggests the potential of PES in BWS.  The study outlines major stakeholders, existing PES mechanism, funding mechanism, SWOT analysis of priorized ES as potential PES scheme and roles of key stakeholders in PES development. The study recommends for development of PES mechanism for conservation and sustainable management of ecosystem resources for which ‘Begnas Watershed PES Advisory and Coordination Committee’ is to be formed to initiate PES mechanism development.

Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) are increasingly popular market driven conservation
strategies which involve a willing buyer and willing provider of ecosystem services coming
together for mutual benefits through market or market-like mechanisms. My thesis critiques
Wunder’s 5 point definition of PES, and argue that it pushes PES towards a purely market end of
the spectrum while ignoring the actual reality of PES cases that involve significant government
support. I demonstrate this by conducting a meta-analysis of a robust sample of PES case
studies. I conceptually draw upon three intellectual strands namely, Manno’s commoditization,
Marxian commodity fetishism and Polanyian theories of fictitious commodities to demonstrate
that ecosystem services function poorly in market mechanisms with little or no institutional
support from governments, socio-political discursive practices, and multiple social actors. I then
recommend a re-evaluation of Wunder’s five point definition of PES, since it is canonical and
influential in the PES literature.

From local governance regimes to policies and markets, diverse institutions are crucial for ensuring effective natural resource management. Payments for Ecosystems Services (PES) are being adopted globally as a potential strategy for protecting and increasing forests by paying for environmental goods and services not captured in the market. Large-scale reforestation efforts have also increased globally, but are mostly aimed at increasing forest cover rather than ensuring resilient ecosystems. Many have argued that such incentivised reforestation schemes could lead to plantations of limited species diversity. Enhancing tree species diversity simultaneously with other forest ecosystem services (e.g. carbon sequestration) in reforestation therefore remains a challenge. Since many land managers are reluctant to voluntarily plant trees of little market or use value, PES may offer a strategy for enhancing tree diversity if stakeholders’ perceptions were understood. I therefore explored how PES should be designed to deliver biodiversity-enhancing reforestation. Empirical research was carried out in mountainous villages within Lebanon’s newly designated Important Plant Areas (IPAs). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with local authorities and key informants in 48 villages within nine IPAs exposing numerous socio-institutional and biophysical constraints to reforestation on municipal lands. I then set out to gauge landowners’ perceptions of PES schemes with varying levels of conditionality. In this mixed-methods study, I found that private landowners are very diverse in their preferences and attitudes towards PES schemes expressed through their discussions about risks and reward. I later surveyed national stakeholders’ preferences for native species to be used in reforestation. Similarly, these stakeholders (and potential PES buyers) also exhibit preference heterogeneity when prioritising native species for reforestation. Finally, I estimate a production possibility frontier from a choice experiment conducted with landowners in the Bcharre-Ehden IPA. My results indicated that real trade-offs do exist between the extent of forest cover and diversity of species used in reforestation. However, while limited in scope, it is possible for reforesting private lands with diverse native forest species cost-effectively through identifying and targeting willing suppliers (i.e. landowners). Increasing participation requires further research to investigate whether absentee residents, with landholdings not tied to commercial farming, would be willing to accept low-cost payments for biodiversity-enhancing reforestation. My thesis provides insights from empirical studies that will contribute to both research and policy in designing PES for achieving multiple objectives cost-effectively.

The PES Sourcebook was developed to provide potential managers of PES projects with basic background material on PES that is required to effectively design, implement, and manage PES programs. The Sourcebook uses a broad perspective on what constitutes a "payment." Depending on the context, payments can imply either cash or noncash incentives, rewards or compensation. The Sourcebook is meant to serve as both a ready reference and a repository of useful knowledge on PES.

This Sourcebook is available in two forms: a PDF of the entire PES Sourcebook complete with a set of covers suitable for binding, or view/download PDFs of individual sections.

We also have a page on Further Reading About PES with additional documents to view/download.

This article outlines a novel framework for investigating complex intersections among divergent approaches to enacting environmental governance. I term this the study of ‘‘diverse ecologies.’’ The framework builds on J.K. Gibson-Graham’s influential ‘‘diverse economies’’ perspective but seeks to integrate this with research in political ecology that devotes greater attention to issues of structural power. In particular, the article draws on growing analysis of environmental governance
as a form of ‘‘environmentality’’ building on Foucault’s influential governmentality analytic. While early literature in this area overlooked the multiple forms of environmentality that may intersect within a given context, more recent research emphasizes this diversity. Integrating multiple environmentalities and diverse economies perspectives thus provides the grounding for the "diverse ecologies’’ framework outlined herein. The framework’s application is illustrated through analysis of a popular payment for environmental services program in Costa Rica.

Political racialization has shaped the route to political power in Guyana from the mid-1950s, cementing ethnic insecurity and patronage politics. The 22-year rule of the East Indian-dominated Party is threatened by disaffection with corruption and by emigration of its ethnic base. A so-called REDD agreement with Norway in 2009 provides international legitimation and funding to win over indigenous Amerindian voters. REDD illustrates how dispensation of international aid, without robust checks and balances, can maintain and extend entrenched power. The Government enlists the discourse of REDD to advance its project of maintaining networks of power and privilege.

Brexit presents both risks and opportunities. The European Union’s (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been subject to piecemeal reforms, but Brexit offers an altogether more far reaching opportunity to redesign the UK’s agricultural policy landscape. Indeed, whilst the finer details were lacking, the UK Government’s 25-year Environment Plan did propose that bolder approaches were being considered and, on the cards, – these have been recently outlined in the Government’s command paper ‘Health and harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit’. An increasingly used phrase within the context of those reforming discussions is the “public monies for public goods” agenda.  This phrase can however mean many things to many people, and whilst there’s a growing momentum to move future agricultural policy in this direction there has been little exploration of what the term “public goods” actually means, and by extension, what a public goods approach may mean for the development of future agricultural policy. This report seeks to address that deficit. We critically engage with the “economic public goods paradigm” but, noting its deficiencies, develop a broader and more holistic “social-ecological public goods paradigm” based on a wider appreciation of human-nature relations. Our expanded view of public goods, whilst exempting “food production”, leads to a reimagining of agricultural policy that emphasizes an agro-ecological approach to landscape multi-functionality, supported by a pluralist value foundation delivered through a payment for ecosystem services approach. Only by utilizing the social-ecological interpretation of public goods outlined here can a sustainable agri-environmental future, as envisioned by the 25-year Environmental Plan, be delivered.

Les Paiements pour Services Environnementaux, ou PSE, sont de nouveaux outils d'incitation économique pour réduire la dégradation des ressources naturelles. Il s'agit de rémunérer les propriétaires, les usagers, ou les gestionnaires des ressources afin qu'ils réduisent les pratiques de dégradation et que les ressources continuent de fournir des « services environnementaux » à des bénéficiaires. Le mécanisme REDD+ (Réduction des Émissions liées à la Déforestation et à la Dégradation des forêts) figure parmi les types de PSE. Il consiste à récompenser les efforts des pays en développement pour le maintien de leurs superficies forestières, ces dernières jouant un rôle prépondérant dans le processus de séquestration du carbone. La question des droits fonciers et de la sécurisation foncière des populations riveraines figure parmi les prérequis pour l'effectivité de la mise en oeuvre de cette démarche. Comment ce modèle international peut –il être adapté à Madagascar ? Quels sont les enjeux fonciers à considérer ? À partir de la compilation d'ouvrages et d'étude de cas de terrain, le numéro 12 de Landscope voudrait contribuer aux réflexions sur la question de la sécurisation foncière dans le cadre des programmes de PSE.

The Caucasus region has been identified by international conservation organizations as a “global hotspot” for biodiversity. Among the nations of the South Caucasus, the environment of the Republic of Armenia faces widespread degradation driven by factors including unsustainable management, lack of alternative energy supplies, and a shortage of sustainable financing for conservation. In order to address similar challenges, some countries have implemented Payment for Environmental Services (PES) programs to compensate upstream landowners or land managers for environmental conservation that benefits downstream users. This research presented three examples of PES programs. The programs in Costa Rica and in upstate New York demonstrated that PES can deliver significant levels of conservation finance and can achieve favorable sustainable development results. The ongoing example in the Danube Basin shows that PES can be implemented as a pilot program to demonstrate the applicability of the concept and transfer lessons learned to neighboring regions. Based on these results, this paper argues that PES may be an effective conservation finance strategy to apply in the Republic of
Armenia. This is especially compelling since there are several sectors that have been identified as strategically important for the country’s economic development that rely heavily on environmental services as a core part of their business. These include hydropower, the beverage industry, and the tourist industry. This paper has shown that these sectors have a direct interest in environmental conservation and that investing in natural capital would ensure their long-term viability and profitability. In addition to addressing business risk in these strategic industries in a proactive manner that lowers costs, a PES program can deliver sustainable development co-benefits and enhance a Corporate Social Responsibility program.

This study assesses the effectiveness of climate-resilient agriculture (CRA) practices in terms of cost–benefits, and prioritizes the activities involved. It was carried out in the Udayapur district of Nepal, where the application of CRA practices into vegetable farming has introduced jholmol (a bio-pesticide and nutrient supplement); water conservation technologies; support for formation of farmers’ groups; regular technical follow-up; and flow of regular market information through short message services (SMS: that is, text messaging). This study is based on the discussions of five focus groups held with local farmers, and on 300 interviews with participating households in the study area. The results indicate that CRA generates multiple benefits compared to conventional agricultural practices. For instance, the benefit–cost ratio (BCR) of CRA practice is 1.81 as compared to 1.02 for conventional farming. In addition, practicing CRA has changed the food habits of farmers, since the proportion of vegetables consumed in their regular meals has increased
substantially. Farmers are also engaging in vegetable farming in their leisure time, instead
of drifting around their villages. However, CRA practice demands capital NPR. 537,695/
ha/year (USD 5220/ha/year) as compared to conventional agricultural practice NPR. 140,171/ha/year (USD 1361/ha/year). Formation of the farmers’ group probably promoted dissemination of knowledge on CRA practices, as it facilitated interaction and the exchange of ideas. CRA is, therefore, an integrated approach rather than the simple provision of technology.

A B S T R A C T The Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) concept is mainly based on Coasean economics theory that emphasizes the creation of a voluntary or market-based transaction for ecosystem services. Alternatively, many PES practiced in developing countries are based on Pigouvian economic theory allowing government intervention such as through regulation, tax or subsidy. A hybrid PES approach that compound Coasean and Pigouvian theory was developed in West Lombok Indonesia leading to a new policy paradigm that combines elements of both a voluntary market-based and mandatory policy-based system. This study aims to assess how the hybrid PES program contributes to poverty alleviation. By employing a participatory econometrics approach, this study found that the hybrid PES system does not contribute to poverty alleviation in short-term. It is possible that this PES program contributes to poverty alleviation in long-term.

The concept of Payments for Ecosystem or Environmental Services (PES) has attracted growing attention in both academic and policy circles. The main premise of this approach is appealing: land users, who tend to be poorly, if at all, motivated to protect nature on their land, may be encouraged to do so through direct payments from ecosystem service buyers. The theoretical underpinnings of PES emanate from a Coasean externality framework, which holds that - under certain circumstances - private negotiations through the market can lead to socially optimal situations. The presumed superiority of PES over other conservation mechanisms is, however, not unequivocal. From an institutional ecological economics and political economy perspective and through a variety of theoretical and empirical chapters this Ph.D. discusses the potential and limitations of the so-called Coasean or market-based PES approach. The central argument throughout this Ph.D. is that one of the reasons for the poor performance of the dominant market-based PES approach is that it tends to overlook a broad range of important social, cultural, and economic dynamics that relate to effective environmental governance.

Payments for Environmental Services (PES) has become a popular means to neoliberalize biodiversity conservation throughout the world. Yet research on PES is increasingly focused on debating exactly how neoliberal programmes really are, documenting complexities in PES implementation and concluding that few programmes are very market-based in practice. While we agree that ideal neoliberal implementation of PES does not and cannot exist, we argue that focusing (only) on micro-politics misunderstands the importance of analysing PES as a form of neoliberal conservation. The question is not just whether PES is innately neoliberal but how it functions within a broader neoliberal political economy. By focusing on the overarching governance and power structures that gave rise to PES in the first place, we more clearly see what we call 'the PES conceit', namely that the approach implicitly accepts neoliberal capitalism as both the problem and the solution to the ecological crisis. This strategy is not only contradictory but also commonly fails to achieve intended outcomes, falling far short of conservation objectives while also often exacerbating socioeconomic inequality. This problematic conceit, we conclude, cannot be addressed through only micro-oriented studies; it demands connecting micro-and macro political economic analyses to confront broader neoliberal power structures.