"Pro-Poor Payment for Ecosystem Services" was the topic for an Oct. 4 policy seminar, the second in a series sponsored by SANREM CRSP and USAID for the federal agency’s personnel and guests.
Payments for environmental services (PES) was at that time a new economic instrument being used to promote development and reduce poverty. Key speakers for the daylong session were John Kerr and Rohit Jundal, Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies, Michigan State University; Theo Dillaha, SANREM CRSP program director; Paul Ferraro, Department of Economics, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University; and Sven Wunder, senior economist with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Belem, Brazil, a SANREM partner.
The full-day seminar, also sponsored by the BASIS CRSP, was held at Virginia Tech's Northern Virginia Center in Falls Church. It followed a July 13 midday session featuring presentations by economist Wunder and Bruce Byers of ARD Inc.
Agenda and Presentations
8:30 – Welcome and introductions: Seminar objectives and logistics
- Understand the principles of PES and PES-like programs
- Understand different ways PES is used around the developing world
- Identify situations in which PES is or is not an appropriate mechanism
- Design and troubleshoot pro-poor PES programs
- Introduction to USAID PES Sourcebook
8:45 – Introduction to PES from a Development Perspective (PowerPoint presentation)
Speaker: Michael Colby, natural resources economics, enterprise, and governance advisor, USAID/ EGAT/ NRM
Presentation preparer: Stefano Pagiola, Environment Department, World Bank
- Reasons for World Bank interest in PES
- Alternative approaches against which PES is being judged
- “True PES” versus “PES-like” programs
9:30 – PES Design and Policy Issues-Part I (PowerPoint presentation)
Speakers: John Kerr and Rohit Jindal, Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies, Michigan State University
Types of payments/rewards
- Individual vs. group payments/rewards
- Conditionality
- Monitoring and measurement issues
- Transaction costs
10:45 – Regional Differences and Similarities in PES Programs for Hydrologic Services (PowerPoint presentation)
Speaker: Theo Dillaha, Program Director SANREM CRSP, Virginia Tech
11:30 – PES Design and Policy Issues-Part II (PowerPoint presentation)
Speaker: Paul Ferraro, Associate Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University
- Seller issues
- Buyer issues
- Property rights issues
- Enabling policies and legal framework
- Intermediaries
1:15 – PES Knowledgebase – Overview and Demonstration of a New Tool (PowerPoint presentation)
Speaker: Theo Dillaha, SANREM CRSP, Virginia Tech
1:30 – PES and Poverty Alleviation (PowerPoint presentation)
Speaker: Sven Wunder, Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Brazil
PES and poverty alleviation-issues and challenges
- Strategies for Pro-Poor PES programs
2:15 – Case study troubleshooting exercises
Speaker and moderator: Michael Jenkins, president and CEO, Forest Trends
- Situations in which PES is and is not appropriate
- How PES can complement traditional sustainable development programs
- How to design and troubleshoot pro-poor PES programs
3:30 – Case study group presentations and discussion
- CEDERENA, Pimampiro, Ecuador (case study description, PDF)
- CONAFOR, PSA-H, Mexico (case study description, PDF)
- Kulekhani Watershed, Nepal (case study description, PDF)
- Kitengela Wildlife Program, Kenya (case study description, PDF)
4:30 – Conceptual wrap-up
Speaker: Sven Wunder, CIFOR, Brazil
- Outlook for PES as a tool for integrating NRM and poverty reduction
- Lessons learned and best practices
- Sources of more information
5:00 – Next steps and sources of information
Speaker: Michael Colby, USAID
5:15 – Adjourn