Can payments for ecosystem services (PES) contribute to sustainable development in Southeast Asia?

Abstract

The chapter contributes to the contentious debate around Payments for Environmental Services (PES) through providing a comparative perspective of experiences with PES schemes in three Southeast Asian countries. It describes the various ways in which PES schemes have been classified, presents a theoretical-conceptual framework for analyzing processes, relationships and institutional environments related to PES mechanisms, and then discusses various PES pilot projects in Vietnam and Indonesia in the light of the framework. A more in-depth case study of a particular watershed in Northern Thailand is then provided, followed by a summative conclusion.