Abstract:

Based on our action research in Asia in the Rewarding Upland Poor for Environmental Services they provide (RUPES) program since 2002, we examine three paradigms: “Commoditized ES (CES)”, “Compensation for Opportunities Skipped (COS)”, and “Co-Investment in (Environmental) Stewardship (CIS)”. Among the RUPES action research sites, there are several examples of CIS, i.e. co-investment in and shared responsibility for stewardship, with a focus on “assets” (natural + human + social capital) that can be expected to provide future flows of ES. CES, equivalent to a strict definition of PES, may represent an abstraction rather than a current reality. COS is a challenge when the legality of opportunities to reduce ES is contested.

The term ‘payments for environmental services’ has rapidly gained popularity, with its focus on market-based mechanisms for enhancing environmental services. Current use of the term, however, covers a broad spectrum of interactions between environmental services’ suppliers and beneficiaries.

A broader class of mechanisms pursues enhancement of environmental services through compensation or rewards. Such mechanisms can be analysed on the basis of how they meet four conditions: realistic, conditional, voluntary and pro-poor.

The Rewarding Upland Poor for Environmental Services (RUPES) program has been examining such mechanisms throughout Asia since 2002.