Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture- FAO
Paiements des services environnementaux (PSE) dans les paysages agricoles
Les bons partenaires
Institutional needs are plenty and varied. Setting up and operating a PES scheme will often require collaboration of a variety of advisory bodies, at different scales and stages of the development of the scheme.
A strong team leader - the intermediary
So far, very few deals on a PES scheme are kept between a provider and one user. In most cases, deals are managed by an intermediary who promotes and manages the scheme. This institution acts as the corner stone of the scheme, acting as a focal point for all stakeholders. It must be a strong, trustworthy and enduring institution. Several other institutions will be involved at different points in time and at different levels, but it is important that there is an enduring focal point to push the entire process, from design and implementation, to operation and continuous adjustment.
Often this intermediary role takes the shape of a PES programme committee built on a trust fund to where contributions from all beneficiaries converge. This new entity includes representation from all the main bodies involved - user associations, farmer cooperatives, local government authorities, NGOs - and is collectively responsible for steering the programme.
Its duties range from leading the negotiations between providers and beneficiaries and making the bridge between them and the relevant partner and statutory institutions consulted, and often even international donors. It deals with hiring expertise at different levels and stages, coordinating response from national regulatory bodies to identify priority areas and eligible land use/management and set payment levels. In some cases, this institution may also take on the role of monitoring the environmental performance of the measure introduced (or this could also be provided by an independent body), and for adjusting eligible areas, activities and correspondent payments as appropriate(19)- see table 4.7
Table 4.7- The possible roles of the intermediary and facilitators in PES schemes
The support team - governance and technical facilitators
Drawing on existing capacity of trustworthy institutions, with an established management capacity and stakeholder representation, can help keep costs low and reduce initial hesitation about the capacity and reliability of an entirely new institution.
Hiring out specific expertise helps reduce investment in training and technical resources: financial institutions are better prepared to manage funds and research institutes may even be willing to carry out baseline information for free, through their research projects.
Different stakeholders will come in at different stages, and remain for different periods. While international policy advisers and donors might be present only in the initial stages, national research institutes may be needed to provide biophysical information to support decisions on land management options in the design phase. A research institute may also be called in to monitor and provide more impartial verification of the scheme’s environmental performance- see Figure 4.6
Figure 4.6-tasks and roles of the support team
As with the supporting institutions, mechanisms to collect, distribute and manage funds for a PES programme are easier and cheaper if building on existing and related channels.
Collecting PES programme contributions from beneficiaries using existing formal channels can keep arrangements simpler, cheaper and easier to monitor. For example, PES programme introduced watershed protection fees can be charged through water bills (this already happens in several cases, for example in the city of Heredia, Costa Rica or Saltillo, in Mexico), additional biodiversity conservation donations can be collected with protected area entrance fees or contributions to a country’s Climate change mitigation efforts collected along with the usual airport tax charged to air passengers.
Payment to participating land managers can also be transferred to them through channels already in place. For example, training in the adoption of new land management techniques may be done by existing farmer associations, or cash payments may be distributed through community councils.(19) The National Forestry Fund of Costa Rica-FONAFIFO- the main intermediary of the Costa Rican national PES scheme adjusts eligible areas and payment levels for each modality of land use change.
