Economics, Trade and Incentive Measures

 
Submission
ID 62414
Submitting Entity ETH Zurich
Submitted for Fourteenth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 14)
 
Main Information
Title Increasing the efficiency of conservation spending: the case of payments for environmental services in Costa Rica
Description Payments for environmental services (PES) are an increasingly used instrument both for financing and implementing conservation. The Costa Rican national PES scheme is often considered as a leading model in this regard. The 2008 contribution finds that improved targeting could substantially increase the efficiency of the program, in the sense that total environmental services achieved with a given budget were found to nearly double when environmental benefits, threat, and participation costs are considered in site selection. The results have implications for an upscaling of PES or the selection among potential conservation projects more generally. Nevertheless, targeting involves implementation costs and faces scientific, administrative and political challenges. Promising approaches for overcoming these challenges include: development of simple targeting tools; improved data availability; implementing targeting from the very start of a program; and using auctions to elicit participation costs.
Web Link /doc/case-studies/inc/cs-inc-engel et al-costa rica-workshop2009-en.doc
 
Additional Information
Authors Engel, Wuenscher, Wunder
Countries Costa Rica
Ecosystems Forest Biodiversity
Regions Latin America and the Caribbean
Incentive Measures Positive Incentives (subsidies, tax breaks, ...)
Keywords Conservation payments
Agri-environmental payments
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