PES: a promising conservation strategy with room to improve

The idea of paying for ecosystem services makes eminent sense but not enough is known about how effective existing schemes are. A recent study by Mongabay surveys 38 schemes and finds two common challenges to be that PES payments are often too low to cover the opportunity costs of (lost) agricultural development, and not promised long enough into the future. The study also raises the interesting question of how much to pay: the value of the environmental service (whatever that might be – it’s often difficult to calculate) or the equivalent of the alternative income from agriculture (or other commercial use)? Finally, the report recommends that we make impact measurement an integral part of PES schemes from the beginning. The view is that we’ve experimented long enough; it’s about time we become more methodical in terms of scaling up based on best practice.

https://news.mongabay.com/2017/10/cash-for-conservation-do-payments-for-ecosystem-services-work/