How to pay for water environmental service? A review of Brazilian experiences

Abstract

The number of Payment for Environmental Services (PES) programs focused on water services has increased substantially over the last decades, including in Brazil. Although PES programs have the potential to increase the supply of environmental resources and services, real gains depend on the particular ways in which programs are designed, and in Brazil, a variety of methodological approaches exist. Considering this, the present research systematically assessed the criteria guiding the operationalization of Brazilian water service payment programs at national and sub-national levels. Despite multiple variables involved in PES programs, leading to interdisciplinary and systemic approaches in Brazil, common methodological patterns emerge. Initiatives have prioritized: (1) a focus on family farmers and producers who own the land; (2) properties with mandated protected areas that are fenced and well maintained or in the process of being restored, prioritizing areas of permanent preservation; (3) properties located in an area of environmental / water relevance, containing springs; (4) the opportunity cost of the land to define the value per hectare paid for areas destined to receive PES. In general, these programs tended to prioritize variables that influence the protection of the hydrological cycle as a whole, the regulating service, in addition to water-provisioning gains. The PES instrument represents a great opportunity for environmental adaptation of rural properties in Brazil, where initiatives should be encouraged to adopt adaptive methodological processes based on their own lessons learned and by reviewing experiences already incurred.