Paying for Green?

PayingPaying for for Green? Green? Bettina Matzdorf, Carolin Biedermann, Claas Meyer, Kristin Nicolaus, Claudia Sattler, Sarah Schomers Payments for Ecosystem Services in Practice Successful examples of PES from Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States Paying for Green? Payments for Ecosystem Services in Practice. Successful examples of PES from Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. Authors: Bettina Matzdorf, Carolin Biedermann, Claas Meyer, Kristin Nicolaus, Claudia Sattler, Sarah Schomers The project was financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in the framework of priority funding for socio-ecological research. (FKZ 01UU0911) What can government, business and civil society do so that PES can make an effective contribution to4 resolving environmental problems? Content 006 Preface 24 Practice – Examples Successful examples of PES from Germany, the United Kingdom 008 Concept and the United States. Who pays for what and why? 30 Voluntary non-governmental payments 024 Practice – Examples 34 Upstream Thinking with Westcountry Rivers Trust ● UK How is it done and who makes it possible? 40 MoorFutures® ● GER 46 Woodland Carbon Code (WCC) ● UK 150 Practice – Taking stock 52 Trinkwasserwald® e.V. ● GER What are the challenges and how can they be addressed? 58 Westcountry Angling Passport ● UK 152 Players and motives 60 Blühendes Steinburg ● GER 158 Contract drafting 66 Edwards Aquifer Protection Program ● US 168 Relations transcending contracts 68 Pumlumon Project ● UK 172 Conclusion 5 74 Voluntary governmental payments 174 Guide 78 Naturschutzgerechte Bewirtschaftung von Grünland in der nordrhein-westfälischen Eifel ● GER What may the future bring? 84 Gemeinschaftlicher Wiesenvogelschutz ● GER 174 Potentials, limits, challenges 90 Florida Ranchlands Environmental Services Project (FRESP) ● US 186 Our recommendations for action 98 Performance-based Environmental Policies for Agriculture Initiative (PEPA) ● US 104 Niedersächsisches Kooperationsmodell Trinkwasserschutz ● GER 188 Glossary 110 Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) in Vermont ● US 194 Links and literature 206 Legal notice 116 Mandatory polluter-funded payments 120 Medford Water Quality Trading Program ● US 128 Silvergate Mitigation Bank ● US 132 Flächenagentur Brandenburg GmbH ● GER 138 Forest Mitigation Banking in Maryland ● US 144 100 Äcker für die Vielfalt ● GER ● Biodiversity ● Water quality and water supply ● Carbon sequestration ● Recreational ecosystem services ● Multiple ecosystem services and biodiversity Preface Our purpose in writing this book is to enrich the PES discussion with examples of successful ositive incentives in terms How does the payment work and how is the amount set? Which practice. The book is addressed in particular to Pof Payments for Ecosys- stakeholders are involved, what interest do they have in it and nature conservation practitioners; we want to tem Services or PES for short, what are their motives? What is their role? How does the interac- encourage them to get involved proactively with are an approach to address- tion between regulatory requirements and voluntary payments PES and, in the best case, inspire them to put ing environmental problems work? We conducted our concrete analyses to find answers to forward their own ideas. that is currently very much these questions in three industrialized countries: Germany, the UK in the focus of discussion in and the United States, while realizing that PES are a meaningful research and practice. The approach in developing countries as well. We selected these three initial euphoria is now being countries because there the PES approach has had to be inte- followed by a period of more sober assessment of the poten- grated into an environmental policy that has already existed for tial and of vocal criticism. Our purpose in writing this book is to many decades. The different interpretations of the role of govern- enrich the PES discussion with examples of successful prac- ment and civil society and of property rights, as well as the various tice. We are particularly concerned with the potential of the socio-cultural differences, have been especially fascinating for the approach and the necessary conditions for the development comparison between those countries. 6 and application of PES. An in-depth look at specific PES projects and programs was That is why we are particularly addressing nature conser- fundamental to getting answers to our research questions. In vation practitioners, i.e. people in environmental groups or diverse interviews, workshops, meetings and round table discus- nature conservation and agriculture agencies who are seeking sions, we noted a strong interest in a mutual exchange of informa- solutions to environmental problems on the ground. It is these tion on existing PES. Above all the practitioners were curious about Bettina Matzdorf, Claudia Sattler, whom we want to encourage to deal intensively with the PES how PES are generated elsewhere and whether there were any new Claas Meyer, Kristin Nicolaus, Sarah Schomers, Carolin Biedermann instrument and at best to inspire them to contribute ideas of and innovative concepts. We should bear in mind, however, that their own. For that reason the focus of this book is on practical in the context of the development of PES, ‘practitioners’ are not examples of implementation and less on the academic discus- always easy to differentiate from ‘researchers’ and there are close sion of PES. ties between research and practice. In particular, the interest in CIVILand, our interdisciplinary research group, has devoted an interchange between the different countries and the question itself to research on PES for over five years. Our focus has of what makes projects successful under various conditions was been on getting a picture of the institutional diversity of the clearly noticeable. PES approaches as well as getting to understand the role, the This great interest in a national and international interchange strengths and the motives of the actors involved, and in particu- motivated us to write this book, as well as some typical scientific lar the civil society stakeholders. Some of our main questions publications, on the subject of PES. Its core is a selection of suc- were: What kind of environmental problems are PES used for? cessful examples of PES from the three countries under study. The selection of successful PES was guided by the assessment of existing regulations and the stakeholders with their different users, those that devise such approaches themselves or actively interests and motives. As our examples also show, regulatory promote their implementation and further development. legislation is in many cases not just the general framework but is It is those committed people that we would like to thank at an essential component of PES. this point: Above all we thank the experts in two workshops, To make this specific aspect clear, we begin our book with a one in Germany and one in the United States, who laid the characterization of PES. There are differing ideas on this matter, foundation for this book. During those workshops, examples both among researchers and among practitioners. Following the of success were identified and there was intensive discussion theoretical introduction to the topic, our 19 examples show how about what makes PES a success. We are likewise indebted to the PES concept can be implemented in practice. The descrip- the managers of the selected examples, who took the time to tions provide information about the backgrounds and objectives, prepare compact descriptions of their PES with us. In in-depth payment mechanisms, funding concepts and stakeholders as well interviews, they not only gave us a detailed picture of the mech- as about existing problems and future prospects. In summing up anisms of the programs and projects but also shared with us the main characteristics of these examples, we try to identify cri- their personal motives and visions. These interviews showed us teria and conditions that seem to be important for the success of clearly what the key to the success of PES is: Highly motivated, a PES. And in the final chapter we discuss in detail the possibili- 7 dedicated people who have the ability to bring the various ties and limitations of PES. Here again, the focus is on the stake- stakeholders together and to create long-term networks. Last holders and hence on this question: but not least, our thanks go at this point to the many interested What can government, business and civil society do so that colleagues and experts we encountered in the course of inter- PES can make an effective contribution to resolving environ- views, surveys and conferences in the context of the CIVILand mental problems? project. These include in particular the many CIVILand partners from the realms of research and practice who supported us within the framework of the Project Advisory Committee. With- out the experience and expertise of all those mentioned, this book would not have arisen. It is only natural in a ‘book of good examples’ that we have the potential of the approaches in focus. You hold a book in your hands, then, that emphasizes the strengths of PES. How- ever, the book is anything but a plea for their indiscriminate use. Whether PES can be successfully developed and deployed depends basically on the concrete environmental problems, the Concept.Who pays for what and why? 8 Ideal and reality Economic instruments as a solution Ecosystem services and biodiversity

Load more