Redesigning payments for ecosystem services to increase cost-effectiveness

This study explores the impact of full enrollment versus partial enrollment in Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) programs, particularly in the context of tropical deforestation and cost-effectiveness. PES programs are policy tools designed to provide cash or in-kind incentives for communities to engage in conservation practices, which are essential for both climate mitigation and biodiversity protection. In Mexico’s context, especially in Chiapas’ Marqués de Comillas (MdC) municipality, this study examines whether requiring participants to enroll all their eligible forest land in PES results in better conservation outcomes compared to standard, more flexible partial-enrollment schemes.

1. Reduction in Inframarginal Payments: Full-enrollment contracts prevent participants from selectively enrolling land they would have preserved anyway, thereby maximizing the conservation impact of PES payments. By minimizing inframarginal payments—payments for conservation that would have occurred regardless—the program increases its cost-effectiveness.
2. Cost-Effectiveness: Full enrollment significantly enhances cost-effectiveness, as it focuses payments on lands that are more likely to face deforestation pressures. This approach, demonstrated in the MdC region, highlights the potential of contract modifications to make conservation funding more impactful, especially under budget constraints.
3. Outcomes on Forest Cover: Full-enrollment participants preserved more forest cover than partial-enrollment participants, achieving higher conservation outcomes per dollar spent. This evidence aligns with findings from similar studies, such as in Uganda, suggesting broader applicability across tropical regions facing similar deforestation challenges.
4. Programmatic Implications: Given the financial limitations facing conservation initiatives, this study supports adopting full-enrollment PES models in high-risk deforestation zones to better direct limited resources towards genuinely at-risk land areas.

This study contributes to the PES literature by offering a tested model that can help refine conservation program designs for greater effectiveness, particularly in high-deforestation and financially constrained settings.

source :

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-53643-1