Analysis of incentive contracts for sustainable ecosystem management in the buffer zone of Podocarpus National Park, Ecuador

Payments for environmental services (PES) schemes have been proposed to create positive incentives to landholders to safeguard certain ecosystems. In addition, PES are often considered as a tool to improve rural household income. The aim of this PhD research is to analyse the (potential) impacts and trade-offs of PES contracts for the maintenance and improvement of ecosystem services and the delivery of rural income to households in the buffer zone of Podocarpus National Park in Ecuador. Overall we see a trade-off between conserving and improving ecosystem service provision, and increasing household income in the PES schemes analysed. Within the research area, rural poverty seems best to be addressed by the implementation of projects that aim at increasing productivity. These could be linked with environmentally friendly practices to ensure a certain level of ecosystem service provision. PES could only have a positive impact if payments would be increased substantially for poorer households. However, PES can provide an additional and stable income source of income for forest holders. For non-forest holders PES for productive actions could also provide an additional source of income, and could strengthen the assurance that the new land use practices continue to be implemented for the duration of the contract. To improve their impact the broader institutional, economic and social environment should be considered. PES is only one tool available to governments and other actors interested in improving and sustaining ecosystem service provision. PES is influenced by a wide range of factors such as market prices for agricultural products and the national and local political situation. Within the research area, PES could be implemented as part of a policy mix and of different programmes to achieve the best outcome both in terms of ecosystem provision and rural development.

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