Home
Abstract
Since 2003, in Mexico, mega-diverse country, programmes of Payments for Environmental Services are being implemented. These programmes consist of an economic compensation received by private and community’s owners for maintaining ecosystem services in their lands. In the case of peasant and indigenous communities it is expected these payments improve local livelihoods and increase the value of rural areas. However, researchers argue that there is a lack of comparative, social-ecological studies assessing their effectiveness. In this paper we describe four case studies of rural and indigenous communities that have had or are having Payments for Ecosystem Services. We are evaluating: 1) types and levels of local participation in decision making and management, 2) land use/land cover change, 3) vital capitals assessment, and 4) local environmental knowledge, perceptions, and values. By analysing our preliminary results we expect to identify the opportunities and risks of Payments for Ecosystem Services in order to promote local participation processes addressed improve conservation. We also expect to generate new knowledge that helps in assessing the effectiveness of these programmes as tools of biocultural conservation.
ICTA Authors
Armando Medinaceli Villegas, Victoria Reyes García, Martí Boada Juncà, Isabel Ruiz Mallén
Digital Object Identifier - DOI
