Payments for Ecosystem Services – Learning Tools (Katoomba Group)

PES Learning Tools / Katoomba Group

This introductory page is designed to support organizations who want to understand how PES can work in practice.

The Katoomba Group was established in 1999 by Forest Trends. It is an international working group made up of experts from different sectors (forests, energy, finance, environment) focused on markets and Payments for Ecosystems Services.

Read Katoomba Group Introductory Primer to Assessing and Developing Payments for Ecosystem Service Deals

The Katoomba group recommend going through the following steps:

Step 1: Identify Ecosystem Services and Potential Deal

To start an organization has to measure the types of ecosystems in an area (e.g. carbon capture) and then calculate their value. Once this has been done potential buyers can be identified.

Step 2: Assess Institutional & Technical Capacity

Next an organization needs to understand the conditions the PES deal will operate in. This includes clarifying property rights and assessing the impact of existing legislation (e.g. regulations)

Step 3: Structure Agreements

Now the organization can work on its business plan and draft contracts to see how the PES deal would work (e.g. costs and payments)

Step 4: Implement Transactions & Payments

Finally the organization can design policies to monitor, evaluate, certify and verify its PES project. These are crucial for all stakeholders involved (sellers, buyers etc)