Title
The impact of Payment for Environmental Services and Protected Areas in Northern Cambodia.
Author(s)
Clements, Tom; Milner-Guiland, E. J.
Published
2014
Abstract
The potential impacts of Payments for Environmental Services (PES) and Protected Areas (PAs) on environmental outcomes and local livelihoods in developing countries are contentious and have been widely debated. The available evidence is sparse, with few rigorous evaluations of the environmental and social impacts of PAs and particularly PES. We measured the impacts on forests and human wellbeing of three different PES programs instituted within two PAs i northern Cambodia, using a panel of intervention villages and matched controls. Both PES and PAs delivered additional environmental outcomes: reducing deforestation rates significantly in comparison with controls. PAs increased security of access to land and forest resources for local households, benefiting forest resource users, but restricting households ability to expand and diversify their agriculture. PES impacts on household wellbeing were related to the magnitude of the payments provided: the two higher-paying market-linked PES programs had significant positive impacts, whereas a lower-paying program tha targeted biodiversity protection had no detectable effect on livelihoods, despite its positive environmental outcomes. Households that signed up to the higher- paying PES programs, however, typically needed more capital assets and hence they were less poor and more foo secure than other villagers. Therefore, whereas the impacts of PAs on household wellbeing were limited overall and varied between livelihood strategies, the PES programs had significant positive impacts on livelihoods for those that could afford to participate. Our results confirm theories that PES, when designed appropriately, can be a powerful new tool for delivering conservation goals whilst benefiting local people.
Keywords
Impact Evaluation; Poverty; Wellbeing
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PUB27031