Regional Synthesis Of Payments For Environmental Services Pes In The Greater Mekong Region

This report synthesizes the country studies on PES schemes in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam – that were prepared for a regional review – to compare the various schemes, to assess their current status, implementation processes and lessons learned, and to draw policy recommendations relevant to REDD+. A summary discussion of the definitions of PES is provided, given that the definitional issue is raised in the individual reports. That discussion is used to present a comprehensive framework of the key design features of PES, which is then used to outline the features of the PES schemes in the four country studies before presenting a comparison of their key features and issues. Then, the key lessons learnt from the country studies and this review, as well as the policy recommendations relevant to REDD+, are derived.

This resourceful book draws on several case studies to derive implications for the design of Payment for Environmental Services (PES) schemes that are very relevant to current climate change negotiations and the implementation of Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) schemes at the national level. With its focus on livelihoods, the book also provides important lessons that are relevant to the design of PES schemes focusing on environmental services other than carbon conservation. Drawing practical lessons for the design of activities aimed at reducing deforestation and forest degradation while benefiting rural people, this book will appeal to academics, practitioners and students involved in the fields of environment and natural resource management, forestry and development studies. This insightful study is accessible also to non-experts in presenting the key issues faced in avoiding deforestation and benefiting livelihoods.

One of the aims of the CoLUPSIA project is to explore options for establishing payments for ecosystem services (PES) within the two districts where the project is working: Seram and Kapuas Hulu. These guidelines were prepared to support the CoLUPSIA team in completing this assessment and have since been revised to incorporate some findings from the field assessments.

Thailand is somewhat lagging behind other countries in Southeast Asia in adopting the concept of payment for environmental services (PES) as an instrument for creating incentives for natural resources conservation. There are a number of activities involving payments for provision of activities or environmental services but these are missing many elements that would qualify them as a PES project. Others are mainly at the design stage or at the initial stages of implementation. One of the major challenges is to create recognition of the benefits from ecosystems services. Presently, private sectors attach considerable importance to CSR projects. There is nothing wrong with CSR projects but CSR activities do not address missing markets, nor aim to create incentives to undertake conservation measures on a sustainable basis. To create demand on a scale that would give the momentum for PES would require a revamp existing legal tools to create effective demand for conservation services. It may be strategically better to approach the ‘private sector institution’ such as: the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Chamber of Commerce, rather than individual private companies. Without this, CSR investment is likely to be spread so thin and while succeeding in promoting publicity of private companies, tangible outcomes in improving the environment are likely to be limited. Although biophysical conditions precede other criteria for selection of potential PES project sites, given that there is an estimated number of forest-dependent people of 1 to 2 million people most of whom believed to be poor and living in environmentally sensitive areas, it is undeniable that PES can be instrumental to addressing poverty alleviation objectives. A major challenge that must be addressed however, is the legal framework. Although not explicitly endorsing the concept of creating incentives for service providers, the relevant laws can be, -and needs to be-, relaxed in specific cases, particularly where PES types projects will be launched in protected areas where there are legal restrictions over access. PES can also supplement the legal provisions to protect biodiversity resources. Like all public goods, over-exploitation of biodiversity resources, is due to the failure to recognize that the economic value exceeds the market prices of the tradable parts of biodiversity resources. Unless there is recognition of the non-tradable benefits, biodiversity resources will continue to be underpriced and under valued, hence the potential contribution of the concept of PES projects to create recognition, demonstrate its economic values and link between the demand and supply side to capture those values.

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) represent a growing share of conservation efforts. To make the most of limited budgets, these programs must target participants and regions most likely to produce the greatest environmental gains while improving (or at least not reducing) economic wellbeing; however, limited monitoring and unquantified results make it difficult to improve these programs' efficiency and effectiveness. Although several studies have investigated demographic and economic covariates related to households' participation in PES, few have explored how these characteristics influence ecological outcomes. Furthermore, there is an inherent assumption that program success, and the social and environmental factors that moderate it, are consistent across a region of interest. This study, conducted at Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve in southwestern China, uses geographically weighted regression, Landsat-derived vegetation index, and household survey data to explore how demographic and livelihood characteristics may cause PES results to vary across households, and how the impacts of these factors may vary in magnitude and direction across the study area. Results illustrate differences between the most willing participants and the most ecologically effective participants. Results also highlight the value of spatially differentiated participant selection to maximize gains and avoid counterproductive outcomes, especially amid inconsistent access to economic opportunities.

"Sary Mom takes a deep and methodical look at the inner workings of Community Protected Areas in Cambodia. Through careful analysis of the local dynamics of the people living in the Toul Korki commune in the Peam Krasaop Wildlife Sanctuary, Sary Mom astutely assesses why some Community Protected Areas succeed while others fail to live up to their promises. Her insightful observations and recommendations offer hope that mangrove conservation can indeed coexist with secure and sustainable local livelihoods"--Page 4 of cover.

The new Accountability Mechanism became effective on 24 May 2012 after a full-scale review of the 2003 version. The review resulted in clearer and closer collaboration between the functions of problem solving—handled by the Office of the Special Project Facilitator (OSPF)—and those of compliance review by the Office of the Compliance Review Panel (OCRP). This report marks the first joint Accountability Mechanism Annual Report of the OSPF and OCRP in the spirit of promoting synergy in the new Accountability Mechanism. It outlines complaint-related activities of the OSPF and OCRP in 2012 and touches on its outreach and the information-sharing initiatives of the new Accountability Mechanism. Background ADB's Accountability Mechanism allows persons affected by ADB-assisted projects to submit complaints about harm resulting from those projects. It is guided by the principles of: responsiveness to project-affected persons’ concerns; fairness to all stakeholders; independence and transparency; cost effectiveness and efficiency; and complementing other ADB systems (including supervision, audit, and quality control).