China’s program of offering rewards for ecosystem services is growing rapidly, but whether such programs support sustainable livelihoods is unclear. In places like Yunnan Province’s Songhuaba watershed, the programs often cause more community and environmental stress than they relieve.

A potential collaboration between the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF-SEA) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Cambodia, is now being discussed to explore ways agroforestry and rewards for environmental service mechanisms can support the preparation and implementation of the Cambodia’s National Action Plan to combat land degradation and other key environmental concerns.

An article about RUPES Program was published some time ago on the Rural Poverty Portal. Powered by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Rural Poverty Portal is a website where rural poor people, policy-makers, donors, research institutes, non-governmental organizations and other development partners can share information about eradicating rural poverty.

The editors’ introductory article to the latest issue of the International Journal of the Commons (IJC) indicated that the journey is still a long one to arrive at claiming environmental services payment/reward mechanisms to favor both the poor and the environment. It is not to say there is no hope but one needs to be aware of the many aspects to consider when using the scheme to achieve conservation and livelihood goals.

“Like in other countries, the need and interest for agroforestry, including payments for ecosystem services (PES), are now growing in Cambodia,” said Grace Villamor, RUPES Research Fellow. She was in Phnom Penh from 16 to 23 of November to organize and attend a round table discussion among key government and university officials to explore ways to enhance research and capacity building options to support the preparation and implementation of Cambodia’s National Action Plan to Combat Land Degradation (NAP-CLD).