Payments for ecosystem services schemes: project-level insights on benefits for ecosystems and the rural poor.
Payments for ecosystem services (PES) provide a market based instrument to motivate changes in land use that degrade ecosystem services. This investigation sought to better understand how effective PES schemes are in meeting the goals of safeguarding ecosystem services, while also benefitting local livelihoods and ensuring pro-poor outcomes.Based on an internet survey of 36 PES projects, including water-bio-diversity and carbon- leading attributes, and analysis of a sub-set of nine case studies, we explore a range of insights and commonalities between projects.