Payment for ecosystem services

Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES, dt, "payments for ecosystem services " ) are an environmental economic instrument to provide incentives for the continuous provision of ecosystem services. Besides getting example, farmers or landowners ( sellers ) compensation of users or profiteers (buyer) of those services.

Operation

PES are made ​​on a voluntary basis transactions between at least one "seller" and at least one " buyer " for the permanent provision of well-defined ecosystem services.

Government support can assist in this regard, a market-based PES mechanism for preservation of ecosystems and their services. Previously, benefits were usually rewarded in the following areas:

  • CO2 capture and storage
  • Wetland protection
  • Water and soil conservation
  • Species, habitats and biodiversity protection

Buyer the actual users may be one ecosystem service, so private individuals, companies, and communities, as well as governmental, non-governmental or international organization to act in the interests of end-users.

Sellers of ecosystem services provided are mostly farmers or other landowners. The state is often a surface owner. Therefore, PES programs may also refer to state surfaces, eg relate in protected areas.

Importance

PES contracts are primarily a tool for the conservation of ecosystem services. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment shows that about 60 % of the examined environmental services degrade faster than they can be regenerated. The PES can set financial incentives for resource- conserving agriculture and other " sustainable " utilization and conservation activities. If the conservation of biological diversity is a direct result or a secondary consequence of the fact that the provision is supported by ecosystem services, PES serve the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

It can thus be achieved positive socio-economic effects. For example, poor landowners can at the headwaters of a river from richer riparians - for example in larger cities - are paid, that they align their land management objectives of flood protection. If the payments exceed the opportunity cost of upstream riparian, a contribution can be made to poverty reduction. However, positive effects are not guaranteed. The FAO recommends to consider projects to reward ecosystem services before potential negative side effects for marginalized groups.

Examples of Honorable Mentions of ecosystem services

The river Cumes is the main source of drinking water of the city of Jesus de Otoro ( Departamento Intibucá in Honduras). Local coffee producers have by-products of processing discarded into the river, thus contributing to water pollution and so affected water users downstream. In order to solve this problem has developed, downstream benefit from the coffee producers in the river headwaters and the inhabitants the local water and wastewater management a compensation program. Accordingly, villagers should flow down about $ 0.06 per household per month to pay to the Manager, the. The money to coffee producers upstream and downstream farmers forwards with the obligation to take measures that prevent water pollution These measures have encouraged the construction of irrigation ditches, the use of organic fertilizer and adequate residue treatment.

In the city of Jamestown on the island of Rhode (USA) farmers mow the hay usually twice a year. However, this activity destroys the habitat of the local grassland birds. Economists from the University of Rhode Iceland and EcoAssets Markets Inc. have asked the inhabitants of Jamestown to the rescue of meadow birds for financial support. The amount of contributions varied between $ 5 and $ 200 per person. The total sum of $ 9,800 was enough to compensate for the annual cost of reduced Heuernten of three farms in Jamestown. Thus, the birds have plenty of time to nest, so their population remains. In this case, benefits both the farmers who need to work only once a year now, as well as biodiversity.

In October 2009, the first international climate forest, the nonprofit organization "Tourism cares" has been initiated, founded in Schuenhagen ( Germany ). This program is supported by the action " Waldaktie " which offers tourists in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the opportunity to buy Waldaktie in order to make their stay a CO2-neutral. A stock has to plant a purchase price of 10 € and allows an area of ​​10 m2 trees. In regular public tree planting, tourists can also plant the trees donated by them personally. Through the Forest shares may be purchased, no shareholder right, because it is only a symbolic contribution to environmental improvement

In the German state of Baden- Württemberg will be paid out of the water abstraction charge compensation for the protection of water to farmers.

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