The narrow road of Payments for Ecosystem Services (Martyn Murray)

Martyn Murray / IUCN – Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group / March 2013

Murray picks through the main debates around Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes. He argues definitions are becoming too broad because they are including very diverse types of ecosystem services such as timber and pollination.

He says we should not assume PES will lead to quick easy solutions. For example he says the future of the REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) scheme is uncertain because carbon prices are low and international agreements are yet to materialise.

Murray highlights the potential problems of conservation policies that are dependent on economic values because prices can fluctuate. He also makes the point that payments based on nature’s value could lead to situations where it makes economic sense to change landscapes, for example from forests to fields.

He also gives the example of the Tanzanian government being pressured to stop road building through the Serengeti National Park based on public pressure (people saw it as part of their heritage)  rather than on a purely economic rationale.

Murray concludes non-monetary values of ecosystems do exist but are being grouped under the same umbrella as monetary valuation.

Read article

————————————

This summary was prepared by Why Green Economy?. The views expressed have been paraphrased. See the original source for more information.