A study by the World Agroforestry Centre looks at the lessons learned in relation to incentives for payments for ecosystem services (PES) schemes.

The blog of the Landscapes for People, Food and Nature Initiative highlights how the study’s results support a landscape-level approach that can achieve greater “efficiency and effectiveness in reaching environmental and livelihood goals”.

With growing private and public sector interest in PES, the study looked at 36 projects and 9 case studies to investigate the success of PES schemes in protecting ecosystems while benefitting local people.

The results suggest that the benefits of landscape-level PES among a mosaic of land uses may help to: overcome financial challenges experienced at smaller-scales; create economies of scale and a mix of solutions to safeguard ecosystem services; increase the ability to identify and mitigate leakage effects; provide greater ability to promote partnerships and engage the suite of actors necessary for change; and provide flexibility to find the most appropriate solutions.

The results also show that non-monetary rewards, such as improved seed varieties and technical support, can often result in longer-term benefits for land owners, such as through increases in yields, future revenue from harvests and access to markets.

The scientists hope their research will help in the design and implementation of future PES projects

Read the full story: Project-Level Insights for Landscape Level PES

Download the full study: Payments for ecosystem services schemes: project-level insights on benefits for ecosystems and the rural poor