Organization and governance for fostering pro-poor compensation for environmental services

This paper is the 8th in a series of nine interlinke d papers commissioned by the Rural Poverty and Environment Programme (RPE) of the International Development Res earch Center (IDRC) as part of a research project entitled ‘Scoping Study of Compensation for Ecosystem Services’. The purpose of this project is to provide the RPE with a broader and richer deliberation on the potential for economic instruments (including market, financial and incentive based instruments) which conserve ecosystem services and at the same time contribute to poverty reduction in the developing world. This paper was prepared by Forest Trends, Ecoagriculture Partners and the Rights and Resources Initiative, with the support of the Institute for Social and Economic Ch ange (ISEC), African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) office in Sri Lanka, as well as coauthors of the remaining issue papers in the series. The purpose of this paper is to assess the requirements, cu rrent state and key issues related to organization and governance in the compensati on and reward for ecosystem services (CRES) needed to achieve pro-poor outcomes. It revi ews the institutional evolution of CRES both conceptually and in practice, and presents a broad view of the many governance, legal and political economy related aspects of CRES. To increase potential for pro-poor outcomes of CRES, the opportunity for local conditions to define the supporting institutional structures and norms that surround CRES is critical. There are a wide range of institutional models of CRES that can benefit the poor, and these tend to in clude features such as: building upon and strengthening existing ins titutions of the poor, allowing flexibility in land use options and in the timeframe for adoption and adaptation of land use, simplification of monitoring and reporting to fit local capacity, and orientation and training of intermediary organizations who serve as brokers to the poor and help them to aggregate supply of CRES services and mediate with buyers. Some key priority actions and areas for further research conclude the paper.

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5716/WP14961.PDF

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