BOX 4.4 PAYING THE POOR FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

Programs that pay landholders to maintain ecosystem services like storing carbon, maintaining stable water flow, or preserving scenic landscapes for tourism have burgeoned in the last decade. Most of these “payment for environmental service” (PES) programs don't do a good job of reaching the poor, even though poor households are often active environmental stewards. A small but growing number of projects show that this does not always have to be the case. Two PES programs in particular—in the Cauca Valley of Colombia and in Chiapas, Mexico—demonstrate how PES can yield benefits for poor communities.

Cauca Valley, Colombia

In the late 1980s, private farmers initiated a voluntary system of payment for water use in the Cauca Valley, Colombia. The payment system was designed to improve the livelihoods of the upland poor as part of a strategy for sustainable watershed management. The uplands of the Desbaratado Watershed in the Cauca Valley were inhabited by poor farmers. Seventy-two percent lacked sanitary facilities and 83 percent had no electricity, but most held titles to their land (Echavarría 2002:6).

Overgrazing and deforestation on the slopes of the watershed had led to erratic stream flows and destructive seasonal flooding in the lower basin, the effects of which were being felt by landowners downstream. These landowners consisted mainly of wealthy sugarcane growers who had invested in costly farming technologies, including laser leveling and underground drainage and irrigation systems (Echavarría 2002:7). With the threat of continually escalating costs to protect their investment, the farmers became interested in regulating the stream flow by restoring and improving management of the lands in the upper watershed. They subsequently organized into twelve Water User Associations and instituted voluntary user fees to finance upland watershed management.

The Water User Associations came to the conclusion that the surest route to achieving long-term land-use change in the upper watershed was to improve the livelihoods of the land users. With the aid of the government, planners met with upland communities to identify community priorities for development. The result of these meetings was a series of programs with wide-ranging social benefits, including:

• A “social program,” providing education and skills training;
• A “production program,” which includes building home gardens to improve diets and increase earnings, as well as reforestation and crop-planting projects;
• An “infrastructure program,” which focuses on improving sanitary and drinking water facilities, building roads, and constructing erosion control structures (Echavarría 2002:7).

From 1995 to 2000, an estimated US$1.5 million was invested in the upper watershed—all from the water fees assessed by the Water User Associations (Echavarría 2002:5). So far, the environmental commitment of downstream users has remained strong, and upland projects have continued even in the face of armed guerilla activity in the region. Considering the length of the project, this suggests that benefits on both sides have been worthwhile.

Chiapas, Mexico: Scolel Té

The Scolel Té project in Chiapas, Mexico, represents one of the first efforts to make the international market for carbon storage benefit poor communities. Companies interested in offsetting their greenhouse gas emissions can purchase carbon credits from a local organization, Fondo BioClimático, with two-thirds of the revenue going to farmers (Scherr 2004:43; IUCN 2003:1). The largest buyer thus far has been the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, which purchased over 13,000 tons of credits to offset some of the emissions from professional auto racing (IUCN 2003:1).

Farmers who join the Scolel Té scheme must draw up a management plan for their land and agree, to the extent possible, to maintain the trees on their land over the long-term. Fondo BioClimático provides technical support and training to participants in managing their land (Phillips et al. 2002:8). Scolel Té is more than a strict reforestation program. It also allows participants to plant “live fences,” shade-grown coffee plantations, and mixed agroforestry plantations. In addition to the PES payment they receive, farmers can make money on regulated sales of timber as well as non-timber products. They also commonly plant food crops under the trees until the canopy closes over (IUCN 2003:1). Because of this variety of income sources, the program is more attractive to farmers.

Since it began in 1996, Scolel Té has gained more than 700 participants in 40 communities. In 2002, sales of carbon credits at US$12 per ton amounted to $180,000, translating into $120,000 distributed among the participants (IUCN 2003:1). The project has also enabled farmers to penetrate markets in sustainable timber, organic coffee, and other agroforestry products. For many, access to these valuable markets has been the more important route to greater income (Rosa et al. 2003:27). The project has generated positive environmental benefits locally as well. Plantings on denuded hillsides are helping to reduce erosion and improve soil quality.

References

Echavarría, M. 2002. Water User Associations in the Cauca Valley: A Voluntary Mechanism to Promote Upstream-Downstream Cooperation in the Protection of Rural Watersheds. Land-Water Linkages in Rural Watersheds Case Study Series. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Online at  http://pdf.wri.org/ref/echavarria_02_water_user.pdf.

IUCN The World Conservation Union. 2003. “Chiapas, Mexico.” IUCN, Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration. Online at http://www.unep-wcmc.org/forest/restoration/globalpartnership/docs/Mexico.pdf.

Phillips, G., G. Hellier, and R. Tipper. 2002. The Plan Vivo System: Verification Status Review.Edinburgh, UK: The Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management, Ltd. Online at http://www.eccm.uk.com/climafor/PVS%20Verification%20Report.PDF.

Rosa, H., S. Kandel, and L. Dimas. 2003. Compensation for Environmental Services and Rural Communities: Lessons from the Americas and Key Issues for Strengthening Community Strategies. San Salvador: The Salvadoran Research Program on Development and Environment (PRISMA). Online at http://www.prisma.org.sv/pubs/CES_RC_En.pdf.

Scherr, S., A. White, A. Khare, M. Inbar, and A. Molar. 2004. For Services Rendered: The Current Status and Future Potential of Markets for the Ecosystem Services Provided by Tropical Forests. ITTO Technical Series No. 21. International Tropical Timber Organization. Online at http://www.itto.or.jp/live/Live_Server/724/TS21e.pdf.