Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations- FAO
Payments for Environmental Services (PES) from Agricultural Landscapes
Website developed by the PESAL team at ESAC and ESAE of the
Agricultural Development Economics Divsion
Contact
Leslie Lipper, Senior Economist ESAE Leslie.lipper@fao.org
PAYMENTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES (PES) FROM AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES
Agricultural ecosystems sustain life. They supply food and drinking water, maintain a library of genetic resources, preserve and regenerate soils, recycle nutrients... The provision of these services depends critically on the management decisions taken by farmers, fishermen and forest managers.
This website aims to disseminate information on the potential of agriculture to improve the provision of environmental services though Payments for Environmental Services (PES) programmes, as incentives for improved land management. Here you will find:
- an overview of current PES schemes - About PES;
- information on the potential of agriculture to provide environmental services (water quantity and quality, carbon sequestration and biodiversity) - The Role of Agriculture;
- an assessment of the current and prospective demand for environmental services from agriculture - Ecosystem Service Markets;
- guidelines on how to set up a PES scheme that can potentially also contribute to reducing rural poverty - Setting up a PES Scheme;
- information to facilitate links between practitioners, prospective providers and users, and possible facilitators of information, technical assistance and finance - Materials.
Payments for Environmental Services (PES) are one type of economic incentive for those that manage ecosystems to improve the flow of environmental services that they provide. Generally these incentives are provided by all those who benefit from environmental services, which includes local, regional and global beneficiaries. PES is an environmental policy tool that is becoming increasingly important in developing and developed countries.
Hundreds of PES schemes are now ongoing all over the world. Buyers, from local water-depending industries to climate aware companies in distant countries, from international conservation organizations to national governments, are increasingly aware of this opportunity and invest in their present resource needs and future local and regional environment.
