1 Payments for Ecosystem Services Flashcards
What are ecosystem services?
Benefits people derives from ecosystems/nature?
What are the 4 categories of services?
Provisioning
Regulating
Supporting
Cultural
What/when was the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment?
2001-2005
Assessed the condition and trends in the worlds ecosystems
Why are our ecosystems degraded?
Due to the chronic failure of markets to internalise environmental externalities and free riding
In what ways have we degraded our ecosystems?
Deforestation, pollution, habitat conversion and degradation, species loss
What are the market failures associated with ecosystem degradation?
Open access resources
Unclear property rights
Lack of representation in the market
Free riding on public goods
What is Payments for Ecosystem Services?
Incentive and market based scheme to internalise the externalities of ecosystem services, encouraging land owners to protect their nature through direct payments
What are the two ways to achieve PES?
Beneficiary pays
Polluter pays
Who introduced the polluter pays principle?
Pigou in 1920 - use of government taxes and subsidies to internalise externalities
Who introduced the market based idea?
1950s Coase Theorem - externalities can be resolved through private negotiation in TCs are low and property rights clearly defined
When/where the first evidences of PES?
1980s UK and USA
Next came?
1990s Develping nations e.g. Costa Rica
Then?
2000s mainstreaming with Bolivia, Mexico, Ecuador, China
Finally?
Tropical countries through PES and REDD+
Why was Costa Rica one of the first place for PES?
Once had the world’s highest deforestation rates
Who manages the PES system?
FONAFIFO
What are the types of payments?
Water service e.g. HEP
Biodiversity
Carbon
What was the success of the CR PES?
By the end of 2005 there was 270,000 ha enrolled in the program (10% of forest area)
Limited success in charging for biodiversity and carbon
More general limitations of PES?
Difficulty defining what services are for sale and who is buying/selling
Distributional effects
Efficiency and leakage?
Why PES in China?
Economic development in China has led to a number of environmental costs
40% of rivers are seriously polluted
80% of lakes are suffering eutrophication
An example of past PES in China?
Sloping Land Conversion Program
Compensated rural land owners for converting sloping croplands to forest/grassland
Prevented soil erosion in upstream regions of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers
Main example of PES in China?
Transboundary Watershed Management on the Xin’an River
What was the history that led up to the TWM?
1998 blue green algae outbreak in the Quiando Lake
2001 first compensation scheme
2007 first pilot project for trans provincial
2011 agreement reached and $40 million start up fund
2012 start of 3 year project
What is the design of the TWM?
Beneficiary pays and polluter pays
Direct measurement of service and joint monitoring
Chinese central government provides the upstream province Anhui with $48 million/year for watershed management
If water quality is low Anhui pay downstream province Zhejiang $16 million/year
If water quality good Zhejiang pay $16 million/year for clean water
