A review of spatial targeting methods of payment for ecosystem services

Payments for Ecosystem Services(PES)have been studied extensively over the past decade as an important policy tool for coordinating ecological protection and regional socioeconomic development.One of the greatest challenges of PES implementation is to understand where to pay,i.e.,spatial targeting,which can directly impact PES effectiveness and efficiency.In this study,we conducted a systematic review of spatial targeting methods based on literature analysis using Citespace.Firstly,peer-reviewed articles related to spatial targeting of PES were selected from the Web of Science database based on keywords.Cases applying PES spatial targeting methods were then chosen and analyzed after all articles were read.In total,70%of the chosen cases focused on improving the compensation efficiency of biodiversity or another single environmental objective,whereas the remaining cases focused on coordinating trade-offs between equity and efficiency or multiple environmental objectives.The main PES spatial targeting approaches included cost-benefit analysis,multi-objective optimization,data envelope analysis and other methods aimed at specific issues.Of these,cost-benefit analysis has been most widely applied at different scales,including county,regional and watershed scales.Significant differences among the different PES spatial targeting methods were found,including in PES spatial targeting dimensions,efficiency optimization approaches and method application conditions.The practice of PES spatial targeting requires the selection of appropriate methods based on contextual biophysical and socioeconomic conditions as well as relevant environmental issues.The combined application of PES spatial targeting methods,compensation willingness of stakeholders and dynamic implementation of PES spatial targeting should be considered in future research.

Assessment of Payment for Ecosystem Services in Zomba Mountain Forest Catchment Area, Malawi

The emergence of Payment for Ecosystem Services （PES） concept has raised expectations that ecosystem conservation can be achieved through popular payments rather than through unpopular measures of command and control. A study on PES was conducted in Zomba Mountain Forest （ZMF） catchment area in southern Malawi between August and December 2009. The aim was to assess stakeholders＇ role that would promote payment for ecosystem services as a management tool. A purposive sampling was used to identify the respondents who were randomly sampled for interviews. The findings show that PES can be used as a management tool in ZMF as there are key stakeholders who benefit from the catchment area in terms of services. While there is moderate level of PES awareness among the community and other stakeholders, the current forest policy does not address PES which may derail implementation of a fully fledged PES arrangement. The study revealed that existing management challenges originate from inadequate funding that ZMF Reserve gets from government. However, this challenge offers opportunities to stakeholders through PES to contribute and participate in conserving ZMF for sustained flow of benefits.

Payment for Ecosystem Services Markets and Rural Development in BrazilmA Co-evolutionary Approach

The article discusses the payment for ecosystem or environmental services markets in Brazil with a critical review, based on the ecological economics literature and focused on the concept of co-evolution. It is argued that the mainstream approach which considers ecosystem services as an externality has many shortcomings and fails to consider institutional and political aspects---all very critical for the design and implementation of a PES （Payment for ecosystem services） project or program. The complexity and the diversity of co-evolutionary relations between ecosystem services and socioeconomic activities are spatially or territorially specific. In this sense, different types of PES market have to adapt and coevolve with different ongoing development processes.

Payment for Water-Related Ecosystem Services as a Strategic Watershed Management Approach

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) have been created worldwide to assist watershed management and improve or maintain water quality. Considering their importance, we conducted a holistic review of payment for water-related ecosystem services to understand how this instrument has been applied in watershed management worldwide. First, we identified the watershed management actions considered by the PES programs and the challenges of implementing water-related PES. After we identified the methods and criteria used to define priority areas for water-related PES. Our review considered articles published on the Web of Science from 2011 to 2022. We found 236 articles relating PES to water resources, highlighting the main water conservation strategies: native vegetation conservation, native vegetation restoration, and implementing best agricultural practices. The method most frequent was interview, followed by the use of technologies, document analysis, and hydrological models. Another significant result was that priority areas for receiving PES are mainly riparian zones, areas near or with native vegetation cover, areas with higher erosion potential, steep areas, and areas with socially vulnerable communities. This review was crucial to identify efficient water resource conservation strategies and potential challenges in the implementation and development of PES programs.

Computing payment for ecosystem services in watersheds: An analysis of the Middle Route Project of South-to-North Water Diversion in China

Payment for ecosystem services （PES） has attracted considerable attention as an economic incentive for promoting natural resource management recently. As emphasis has been placed on using the incentive-based mechanism by the central government, rapid progress on PES research and practice has been achieved. However PES still faces many difficulties. A key issue is the lack of a fully-fledged theory and method to clearly define the design scope, accounting and feasibility of PES criteria. An improved watershed criteria model was developed in light of research on PES practices in China, investigations on the water source area for the Middle Route Project of South-to-North Water Diversion and ecosystem services outflows theory. The basic principle of assessment is the direct and opportunity cost for ecological conservation and environmental protection in the water source area deduct nationally-financed PES and internal effect. Then the scope and the criteria methods were determined, and internal effect was put forward to define benefits brought from water source area. Finally, Shiyan City, which is the main water source area for the Project of Water Diversion, was analyzed by this model and its payment was calculated. The results showed that： （1） during 2003–2050, the total direct cost and opportunity cost would reach up to 262.70 billion and 256.33 billion Chinese Yuan （CNY, 2000 constant prices）, i.e., 50.61% and 49.38% of total cost, respectively; （2） Shiyan City would gain 0.23, 0.06 and 0.03 CNY/m3 in 2014–2020, 2021–2030, and 2031–2050, respectively.

Estimating farmers’stated willingness to accept pay for ecosystem services:case of Lake Naivasha watershed Payment for Ecosystem Services scheme-Kenya

Introduction:Lake Naivasha watershed is recognized for its contribution to Kenya’s national gross domestic product from the export of horticultural products.Commercial horticultural investment downstream depends mainly on the Lake’s water.The fresh water lake lacks surface outflow,and its recharge depends on river Malewa flowing from upper catchment in Aberdare ranges.However,unsustainable land use practices in the upper catchment has led to increasing sediment loading and pollution in river Malewa which affects water quality in the Lake downstream.Payment for Environmental Services(PES)scheme has been initiated as an alternative incentive approach to motivate upstream smallholder farmers adopt sustainable land use practices for conservation of watershed services.This paper analyzes willingness to accept pay(WTA)as proxy economic measure of environmental service(ES)value and determines socio-economic factors influencing farmers WTA for watershed conservation.We analyzed the WTA and characterized WTA underlying socio-economic determinants in two PES intervention sites in Kenya.Methods:The objective of this study was to estimate WTA and determine socio-economic factors influencing WTA.Semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 200 PES farmers through face-to-face interview.We applied contingent valuation(CV)and logistic regression for data analyses to elicit farmer’s WTA estimates to implement PES farm practices and determine socio-economic factors influencing WTA,respectively.Results:Results revealed over 90% of respondents were farmers and 60% had primary level of education.Average household farm size was 2.305 acres and family size was six members on average.We recorded a monthly marginal household increase in gross income from Kshs.6891.969(US$68.92)before PES to Kshs.11,011.48(US$110.12)with PES interventions.The estimated annual lowest and highest WTA for PES farm practices were at Kshs.8835(US$88.35)for grass strip and Kshs.21,847.500(US$218.48)for fallowing.Household socio-economic characteristics had significant influence on WTA among farmers.Conclusions:The study revealed heterogeneity in WTA estimates among PES implementing farmers.The WTA reflects opportunity cost to farmers.We recommend PES mechanism as a policy tool to internalize negative watershed externalities to provide ecosystem services.

Necessary Conditions and Situational Variables of Payments for Ecosystem Services

Clarifying the necessary conditions for the emergence of payments for ecosystem services (PES) and the situational variables that affect PES is the basis for their interpretation, prediction, and selection. This article proposes an analytical framework for the emergence of PES and argues that the key to determining whether PES can occur and whether a selected PES program is appropriate is to evaluate the net gain. When payers anticipate that a PES program will provide a satisfactory number of ES and a net gain over the opportunity cost and will cover all costs, it is assumed that the program will be implemented. When it is difficult to accurately evaluate the net gain of PES, the situational variables that affect the costs and benefits need to be examined. The group characteristics, ES characteristics, spatial and temporal contacts between the suppliers and demanders, correlation with private goods and additionality are important situational variables that affect the emergence and choice of PES.

Payments for Ecosystem Services: Market Mechanism or Diversified Modes?

Payment for ecosystem services is a concept of environmental protection and method of environmental management that has ＂purchasing conservation＂ as a major feature and has grown around the world since the 1990 s. It is stressed by the school of environmental economics that as a voluntary mechanism of exchange between ecological service providers and demanders, payments for ecosystem services can help to increase inputs and improve efficiency. Ecological economics holds that the ecological system and the complexity of the policy environment restrict the functional space of market mechanisms. The negative influence of the objective of giving priority to efficiency on environmental protection and social fairness cannot be neglected; therefore, the exchange mechanism is just one type of eco-compensation models. Here, we posit that payments for ecosystem services is a good tool for environmental protection and increases inputs and efficiency. Although payment for ecosystem services is confronted with challenges in application, it is playing an increasingly important role in the field of ecological services with a relatively high degree of commodification. Payments for ecosystem services can also increase the cost effectiveness of publicly managed environmental projects with the cooperation of other policy tools.

Net Horizontal Payments for Ecosystem Services: An Application in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region of China

Payments for ecosystem services(PES) are one kind of important tool for environmental protection, and have been widely studied by international scholars and conservationists. Based various definitions of PES from recent articles, we have outlined four principles for PES: parity, measurability, additionality and conditionality, and then have used these principles to develop a formula to calculate a standard for PES. Finding a way to use PES to achieve a win-win relationship between economic growth and environmental protection in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region(BTHR) is a key task for Chinese government. Synergetic development of BTHR has become a national strategy, like The Belt and Road Initiative. This article employed the formula we developed to calculate the net horizontal PES amounts that each provincial government within BTHR should pay. Our findings show that Beijing should have paid 10.44×10~9 Yuan(0.4% of Beijing’s GRP) and Tianjin 16.56×109 Yuan(0.93% of Tianjin’s GRP) to Hebei in 2016.

Neighborhood impacts on household participation in payments for ecosystem services programs in a Chinese nature reserve:A methodological exploration

Payments for Ecosystem Services(PES)programs have been implemented in both developing and developed countries to conserve ecosystems and the vital services they provide.These programs also often seek to maintain or improve the economic wellbeing of the populations living in the corresponding(usually rural)areas.Previous studies suggest that PES policy design,presence or absence of concurrent PES programs,and a variety of socioeconomic and demographic factors can influence decisions of households to participate or not in the PES program.However,neighborhood impacts on household participation in PES have rarely been addressed.This study explores potential neighborhood effects on villagers'enrollment in the Grain-to-Green Program(GTGP),one of the largest PES programs in the world,using data from China's Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve.We utilize a fixed effects logistic regression model in combination with the eigenvector spatial filtering(ESF)method to explore whether neighborhood size affects household enrollment in GTGP.By comparing the results with and without ESF,we find that the ESF method can help account for spatial autocorrelation properly and reveal neighborhood impacts that are otherwise hidden,including the effects of area of forest enrolled in a concurrent PES program,gender and household size.The method can thus uncover mechanisms previously undetected due to not taking into account neighborhood impacts and thus provides an additional way to account for neighborhood impacts in PES programs and other studies.

Assessment of ecosystem services of rice farms in eastern India

Background:Rice is a major cereal crop and staple food of eastern India,and most farmers depend solely on rice for their livelihood.Rice farming provides both tangible and non-tangible benefits to ecosystems which need to be maintained and enhanced.These benefits are provided through ecosystem services(ES)that include both marketable and non-marketable.Methods:In this study,the rice farms in eastern India were valued by quantifying the economic value of the services under conventional method of rice cultivation and the gap of ecosystem services value and farm income per unit area were assessed.A stratified random sampling technique was used in this study for selection of agro-climatic zones,districts,blocks,gram panchayat,and study units(households).Soil sampling was also performed for assessing the regulating services(biocontrol of pests,carbon flow,soil erosion,nitrogen fixation),provisioning services(food and by-products),and supporting services(soil fertility,hydrological flow,nutrient cycling,and soil formation).Results:The results indicated that the total economic value of ecosystem services ranged from US$1238 to 1688 ha−1 year−1.The marketed(primary production)and non-marketed ecosystem services values ranged from 66–89 to 11–34%of the total,respectively.Valuation of some of the ecosystem services such as cultural services,biodiversity,and gas regulation,which may play a significant role in total ecosystem services,has not been made due to non-availability of data and appropriate methodology for rice ecosystem.Different values of parameters can explain the variability in ecosystem services among the agro-climatic zones in eastern India.Clustering of locations based on variability of ecosystem services helps in identifying intervention points for sustaining and improving ecosystem services,while permitting sustainable agro-ecological intensification.The highest total economic gap between ES value and farm income was found in the north central plateau zone(US$1063 ha−1 year−1)and the lowest in the north western plateau zone(US$670 ha−1 year−1).Conclusion:We suggest various measures to reduce the economic gap,including payments for ecosystem services for rice farming for sustainability of the ecosystem and agricultural development,while ensuring reliable farm income.

The Global Science of Integrated Water Governance

Abstract： This study discusses the benefits of establishing a broader discipline of water science, based on the organizing mechanism of PES-W （payments for ecosystem services on the watershed scale）. PES-W is derived from an extension of governance analyses of 163 watershed-based PES （payments for ecosystem services） programs, and from the integrative decision mechanism of IPES （integrated payments for ecosystem services） to generalize the PES approach. PES-W reflects three interrelated perspectives fundamental to the global science of integrated water governance： （1） the ecological and economic perspective to integrate human incentives for integrated water resources governance; （2） the sociological and ecological perspective to form partnerships for meta-monitoring and recta-funding for integrated watershed governance; and （3） the scientific and sociological perspective to develop organizing botmdaries based on technology, lifestyle, entrepreneurship and organizing infrastructure for integrated aquatic ecosystem governance. This study is intended to communicate with the international scientific communities for establishing an advanced, academic, and practical multidisciplinary field of the global science of integrated water governance as a critical condition for sustainable development in human societies.

Current Status and Future Trends for Eco-compensation in China

Eco-compensation, known as payment for ecosystem services, is defined in China as an institutional arrangement for regulating the relationship of economic interests among ecological protectors, beneficiaries and destructors in order to protect ecological service function and foster harmony between people and nature with non-market and market tools including transfer payment, taxes and fees. Reasonable compensation to ecological service providers significantly contributes to the protection of ecological assets and effective supply of ecological services by adopting transfer payments or market transactions on the basis of comprehensively considering the costs of ecological protection, costs of development opportunity and ecological service values. It is helpful for implementing a strategy for main functional areas. The building of eco-compensation mechanisms is therefore highly valued as the most important institutional guarantee for promoting the ecological civilization. Existing ecocompensation mechanisms mainly fall into three categories： exchequer based transfer payment, vertical and horizontal, and market based compensation in China. The institutional framework has been primarily established, inclusive of a forest ecological benefit compensation fund system, grassland eco-compensation system and transfer payment system of national key ecological function areas. Under the framework, various areas and departments have actively explored the building of an eco-compensation system and achieved important progress for forests, grassland, wetlands, river basins and water resources, exploitation of mineral resources, oceans and national key ecological functions areas. However, the eco-compensation system dominated by vertical transfer payments is still far from perfect in China. The interest regulation pattern of ＂developer to protect and beneficiary to compensate＂has not been formed. Its role in the protection of the ecological environment has not been brought into full play. China should improve eco-compensation systems by intensifying eco-compensation inputs, strengthening government responsibility, diversifying eco-compensation tools, and establishing institutional systems.

Science Letters:A new quantitative model of ecological compensation based on ecosystem capital in Zhejiang Province,China

Ecological compensation is becoming one of key and multidiscipline issues in the field of resources and environmental management. Considering the change relation between gross domestic product (GDP) and ecological capital (EC) based on remote sensing estimation, we construct a new quantitative estimate model for ecological compensation, using county as study unit, and determine standard value so as to evaluate ecological compensation from 2001 to 2004 in Zhejiang Province, China. Spatial differences of the ecological compensation were significant among all the counties or districts. This model fills up the gap in the field of quantitative evaluation of regional ecological compensation and provides a feasible way to reconcile the conflicts among benefits in the economic, social, and ecological sectors.