Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES)

Governments, communities, and NGOs share the responsibility of protecting the environment. Governments must work out the legal framework and in many cases be the direct procurers of some ecosystem services (public goods). Community and conservation NGOs must ensure that ecosystem services and PES schemes are pursued with equity

Water is one of the most important ecosystems. Bathing a young child in the April River, Pukapuki village in Papua New Guinea © Brent Stirton / Getty Images / WWF

Ecosystems and their “services”

Ecosystems support plant and animal life by maintaining the overall balance in nature. When functioning well, ecosystems also bring multiple benefits to people. These benefits range from provision of basic commodities, such as food and fuel, to spiritual benefits – for example, the aesthetically pleasing landscapes that we all enjoy.

The benefits that people get from nature are known as ecosystem services.

Ecosystem services can be roughly divided into:

* Supporting services – those services creating conditions necessary for the provision of all other ecosystem services, for example photosynthesis or soil formation,

* Provisioning services – all products coming from ecosystems, such as food, fibre, fuel, herbs and medicinal plants, genetic resources, drinking water,

* Regulating services – the capacity of ecosystems to regulate important natural processes, including the regulation of climate, quality and quantity of water, and

* Cultural services – non-material benefits from ecosystems, for example the aesthetic and recreational value of landscapes.

Today, through our activities, we often exploit natural resources, influencing the capacity of ecosystems to provide us with their beneficial services. Agriculture, forestry, fishing, even tourism can be hard for ecosystems to cope with. With our excessive activities we impact air quality, water purification processes, flood control, the Earth’s climate.

Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) is an innovative approach to nature conservation

Payments for Ecosystem Services is the name given to a variety of arrangements through which the beneficiaries of environmental services, from watershed protection and forest conservation to carbon sequestration and landscape beauty, reward those whose lands provide these services with subsidies or market payments. Arranging payments for the benefits provided by forests, fertile soils and other natural ecosystems is a way to recognise their value and ensure that these benefits continue well into the future.

Payments for Ecosystem Services encourage the maintenance of natural ecosystems through environmentally friendly practices that avoid damage for other users of the natural resources. In addition to preserving natural resources, this method improves rural areas and rural lifestyles.

WWF and Payments for Ecosystem Services

WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme (WWF-DCP) has been developing a number of practical initiatives, including a major project “Promoting Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) and Related Sustainable Financing Schemes in the Danube Basin”. The project team comprises 22 experts located in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine, Austria and the USA, representatives of the WWF-DCP. The project encourages landowners to manage resources in a manner that ensures they continue to generate the environmental services we all need.

Global Environment Facility (GEF) is funding the project which will be implemented through UNEP and managed by WWF-DCP.

Model areas

On the Lower Danube in Bulgaria, we have identified two possible sites for demonstration projects: the area of Rusenski Lom, in the vicinity of Rusenski Lom Nature Park near the town of Ruse; and Persina Nature Park, a Natura 2000 and a Ramsar site. Both possible project sites are located within the designated area of the Lower Danube Green Corridor. Both nature park administrations are partners to the project. Possible activities and issues in the area of Rusenski Lom are focused on maintaining and enhancing the biodiversity values of Rusenski Lom Nature Park, maintaining existing High Nature Value Farmland, including pastures and meadows; converting some of the arable land along the Rusenski Lom River to grassland; marketing locally produced food and food products from the High Nature Value grasslands and meadows and implementing sustainable forestry management in the park forests.

In Persina Nature Park the main conservation targets are wetlands and fish populations. The PES schemes are planned to accumulate funds for restoration and preservation of wetlands. Private-funded PES schemes will be based on the potential and economic efficiency of use of biomass from wetlands.

Why should businesses care?

Many companies rely on natural resources, and securing the flow of ecosystem services may be directly related to their business’s bottom line. Water companies need functioning ecosystems to maintain water quality. Tourism companies want to preserve the landscapes and wildlife that attract their clients. Other businesses have a considerable environmental impact or produce significant harmful emissions; they may find that paying to increase the flow of ecosystem services (e.g. carbon offsets or biodiversity offsets) is an economical way to neutralise their footprint.

However, caring for the environment and paying for environmental services is not the sole responsibility of the private sector. Governments, communities, and NGOs share the responsibility of protecting the environment. Governments must work out the legal framework and in many cases be the direct procurers of some ecosystem services (public goods). Community and conservation NGOs must ensure that ecosystem services and PES schemes are pursued with equity—balancing the interests of people and nature—to increase job and income opportunities for the rural poor and deliver real, on-the-ground conservation.

Duska Dimovic, WWF

Plaćanje za usluge ekosistema

Mnoge se kompanije oslanjaju na prirodne resurse, te osiguravanje protoka usluga ekosistema može biti direktno povezano sa njihovim poslovanjem. Međutim, briga o životnoj sredini i plaćanje za usluge ekosistema (Payments for ecosystem services - PES) nije samo odgovornost privatnog sektora. Vlade, lokalne zajednice i nevladine organizacije takođe nose deo odgovornosti zaštite životne sredine.

Voda je jedan od ekosistema bez kojega nebi mogli živeti.
Pranje dječaka u reci April u selu Pakapuki u Novoj Gvineji© Brent Stirton / Getty Images / WWF

Ekosistemi i njihove “usluge”

Ekosistemi omogućavaju život održavajući sveukupnu ravnotežu u prirodi. Kada dobro funkcionišu, ekosistemi pružaju mnogostruke koristi ljudima. Ove koristi su širokog opsega - od obezbeđivanja osnovnih dobara, kao sto su hrana,voda i gorivo, do duhovnih koristi, kao sto su estetski lepi predeli u kojima svi uživaju.

Koristi koje čovečanstvo dobija iz prirode se nazivaju usluge ekosistema. One se mogu okvirno podeliti na:

* Usluge podrške – usluge koje stvaraju neophodne preduslove za odvijanje svih ostalih funkcija ekosistema, na primer: formiranje zemljišta ili fotosinteza

* Usluge snabdevanja – svi produkti koje dobijamo od ekosistema, na primer: fosilna goriva, drvna masa, voda za piće, hrana biljnog i životinjskog porekla, genetički resursi

* Usluge regulacije – usluge zasnovane na kapacitetu ekosistema da regulišu važne prirodne procese, kao što je klima, kvalitet i kvantitet vode itd.

* Usluge kulturnog značaja – nematerijalne koristi koje proizilaze iz očuvanih ekosistema, na primer, estetski i rekreacioni značaj predela.

U današnje doba, putem naših aktivnosti, preterano i nekontrolisano eksploatišemo prirodne resurse i time negativno utičemo na sposobnost ekosistema da nam pružaju svoje korisne usluge. Poljoprivreda, šumarstvo, ribarstvo, pa čak i turizam često prevazilaze kapacitet ekosistema. Putem naših neodrživih aktivnosti pogoršavamo kvalitet vazduha, ometamo procese prirodnog prečišćavanja vode i zaštite od poplava, utičemo na klimatske prilike na našoj planeti.

Plaćanje za usluge ekosistema je inovativni pristup ka očuvanju prirode

Plaćanje za usluge ekosistema je naziv za različite aranžmane putem kojih korisnici koji profitiraju od usluga ekosistema (od zaštite vodenih slivova i šuma, do deponovanje ugljenika i lepote predela) nagrađuju one čije zemljište obezbeđuje te usluge, putem subvencija, ili tržišnih plaćanja. Uspostavljanje šema plaćanja za koristi koje obezbeđuju šume, plodno zemljište i drugi prirodni ekosistemi je način da se izrazi priznanje njihove vrednosti i da se osigura kontinuitet njihovog postojanja i u budućnosti. Plaćanja za usluge ekosistema potstiče očuvanje prirodnih ekosistema putem aktivnosti koje ne štete životnoj sredini i na taj način čuvaju resurse i za druge korisnike, a pored toga pozitivno utiču na ruralne oblasti, potstiču njihov razvoj i unapređuju ruralni način života.

WWF i Plaćanja za Usluge Ekosistema

WWF Dunavsko-karpatski program razvio je brojne inicijative, uključujući i veliki projekat u Dunavskom slivu „Promovisanje Plaćanja za Usluge Ekosistema i šeme održivog finansiranja u slivu Dunava“. Projektni tim sačinjavaju 22 eksperta iz Bugarske, Rumunije, Srbije, Ukrajine, Austrije i SAD iz WWF Dunavsko-karpatskog programa. Projekat potstiče zemljoposednike da upravljaju resursima na način koji osigurava održivost usluga ekosistema koje su svima nama potrebne. Globalni fond za životnu sredinu (GEF) finansira projekat preko Programa životne sredine Ujedinjenih Nacija (UNEP) kao implementacione agencije, a realizuje ga WWF- Dunavsko-karpatski program.

Pilot područje

Na donjem toku Dunava u Bugarskoj identifikovane su dve lokacije za demonstrativne projekte: oblast Rusenski Lom, u blizini istoimenog parka prirode i grada Ruse, i park prirode Persina, koji je Natura 2000 i Ramsarsko područje. Obe lokacije se nalaze u sklopu Zelenog Koridora donjeg toka Dunava. Potencijalne aktivnosti u oblasti Rusenski Lom su fokusirane na očuvanju i unapređenju biodiverziteta parka prirode, uz istovremeno očuvanje postojećih poljoprivrednih površina visoke prirodne vrednosti, uključujući i pašnjake i livade, pretvaranjem nekih obradivih površina duž toka reke u pašnjake, promovisanjem lokalno proizvedene hrane i proizvoda sa pašnjaka i livade visoke prirodne vrednosti, i uvođenjem održivog upravljanja šumskim bogatstvom u šumama parka.

U parku prirode Persina cilj je očuvanje vlažnih staništa i ribljeg fonda. Planirano je da se putem šema plaćanja za usluge ekosistema skupe sredstva za obnavljanje i očuvanje vlažnih područja. Privatno finansirane PES šeme će biti zasnovane na potencijalu i ekonomskoj efikasnosti upotrebe biomase iz vlažnih područja.

Zašto bi kompanije bile zainteresovane?

Mnoge se kompanije oslanjaju na prirodne resurse, te osiguravanje protoka usluga ekosistema može biti direktno povezano sa njihovim poslovanjem. Kompanije koje sa bave flaširanjem i prodajom vode imaju jaku potrebu za funkcionalnim ekosistemima koji obezbeđuju dobar kvalitet vode. Turističke kompanije žele da predelii živi svet budu očuvani da bi privukli klijente. Neke delatnosti imaju znatan negativan uticaj na životnu sredinu, te je za njih plaćanje za održavanje ekosistemskih usluga (na primer carbon offsets or biodiversity offsets) ekonomični način da smanje svoj ekološki otisak.

Međutim, briga o životnoj sredini i plaćanje za usluge ekosistema nije samo odgovornost privatnog sektora. Vlade, lokalne zajednice i nevladine organizacije takođe nose deo odgovornosti zaštite životne sredine. Vlade moraju obezbediti pravni okvir, a u mnogim slučajevima i direktno promovisati neke usluge ekosistema (javna dobra). Lokalne zajednice i nevladine organizacije moraju da osiguraju da se usluge ekosistema i PES šeme sprovode pravedno, usaglasiti interese ljudi i prirode, a u cilju povećanja zaposlenosti i zarada za siromašno ruralno stanovništvo i uspešne zaštite prirode.

Duška Dimović, WWF