Description

This article provides an Introduction to the Special Issue of Ecological Economics on Payments for Environmental Services (PES). The definition and purpose of PES provides a foundation to discuss key factors in the design and implementation of PES schemes. The authors also compare PES to other policy instruments and assess the effectiveness and distributional impacts of PES schemes.

Contents:

1. Introduction 2. Definition and scope of PES 2.1. Definition 2.2. Scope 3. Characteristics of PES programs 3.1. Who are the buyers? 3.2. Who are the sellers? 3.3. How do PES mechanisms work? 3.4. How are PES mechanisms established? 4. PES vs. other policy instruments 4.1. PES vs. environmental taxes 4.2. PES vs. command-and-control regulation 4.3. PES vs. integrated conservation and development projects 4.4. PES as part of a policy mix 5. Effectiveness and efficiency of PES programs 6. Distributional implications of PES 7. Payments for environmental services in practice