Perspectives on Watershed-Based Payments for Ecosystem Services (original) (raw)
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Procedia Environmental Sciences, 2011
Economics – specifically, monetary valuation – has been given a pivotal role in ecosystem conservation. This is a retrogressive step, undoing important sustainability principles and practices that should have been embedded in environmental policy and management action. The concept of ecosystem services is a useful framework for understanding the dependency of human society on its natural environment, but it needs to be part of a larger solution that recognizes the complexity of the socio-ecological system, and the issues of equity and justice that pertain to sustainable responses to global environmental change. There have been a few recent critical analyses of the ecosystem services concept and its global application that address these issues. This paper summarizes the perspectives and arguments made in those articles, and argues for more reflexive policy and research.
2011
Economics – specifically, monetary valuation – has been given a pivotal role in ecosystem conservation. This is a retrogressive step, undoing important sustainability principles and practices that should have been embedded in environmental policy and management action. The concept of ecosystem services is a useful framework for understanding the dependency of human society on its natural environment, but it needs to be part of a larger solution that recognizes the complexity of the socio-ecological system, and the issues of equity and justice that pertain to sustainable responses to global environmental change. There have been a few recent critical analyses of the ecosystem services concept and its global application that address these issues. This paper summarizes the perspectives and arguments made in those articles, and argues for more reflexive policy and research. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection under responsibility of C. Downy and S. Colston.
Managing Ecosystem Services for Human Benefit: Economic and Environmental Policy Challenges
In the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005), ecologists identified and pointed out a multitude of environmental and other benefits obtained by human-beings from ecosystem services. Frequently, these benefits are not fully recognized and they are not adequately taken into account in decision-making in contemporary economic and political systems for reasons outlined in this contribution. In particular, this adversely affects the optimal conservation of natural, near natural and unmanaged ecosystems. The human benefits from ecosystem services as set out in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment are summarized and this assessment is examined critically. Economic views about the economic value of different types of ecosystems and forms of biosphere use are outlined and assessed. Determining the economic value of alternative forms of land-use (more generally biosphere-use) is extremely difficult because of knowledge constraints. Often the biophysical consequences, that is, variations in the supply of ecosystems services resulting from alterations in ecosystems, are poorly known. The economic valuation of changes in ecosystems (alterations in biosphere-use) is also hampered by poor information about the demand for these services (for example, the willingness of beneficiaries to pay for their supply) and the cost of replacing these services if they are lost (or diminished in availability) as a result of ecosystem change. While this limits the scope for economic valuation, it does not mean the rational valuation of biosphere use is impossible. It has been suggested that the supply of ecosystem services can be managed optimally, in some cases, if private landholders are paid for supplying these services. The benefits and drawbacks of this approach are discussed. China’s policies to restore the supply of particular ecosystem services, for example, its Grain-for-Green program, are used to illustrate some of these matters.
2014
"Joachim H. Spangenberg, Christoph Görg, Dao Thanh Truong, Vera Tekken, Jesus Victor Bustamante & Josef Settele ABSTRACT: Ecosystem services (ESS) are frequently described as nature’s free gift to humankind. However, the first step of ESS and benefit generation is recognising the usability of structures, processes and outputs of ecosystems. This use-value attribution transforms the ecosystem functions (ESF) into ecosystem service potentials (ESP). By investing physical resources, energy and labour, and frequently money as a means to provide them, agents mobilise (part of) the potentials. Cultural, economic and legal constraints limit the mobilisation. The resulting ESS are appropriated to be directly consumed, exploited to provide other goods and services, or marketed, resulting in monetary income. Changing use-value attribution leads to change service potentials, to different mobilisation and appropriation patterns, and different benefits. Human agency, not ESF determine the services provided. This is illustrated by comparing traditional and current services generated from the same ecosystem in four countries undergoing socio-economic transitions: Kenya, Mongolia, the Philippines and Vietnam. All four cases show that changing habits, preferences and modes of regulation lead to specific services provided. Institutions such as tradition, belief systems, markets or state planning are the key to understand which ESS are generated from any ESF. Value attribution, mobilisation and appropriation are key processes."