Financial compensation for environmental services: The case of the evian natural mineral water (France)

Abstract

The Evian bottled Natural Mineral Water Company in France initiated in the late 1980s a promising multisectorial water protection policy aiming at maintaining the Evian Natural Mineral Water (NMW) quality by promoting a sustainable development of its catchment area. The assessment illustrated in this chapter focuses on the payment for ecosystem services (PES) scheme developed by the association for the protection of the catchment area of Evian mineral water (APIEME) with local farmers. It demonstrates how the Evian Company can maintain a land use and traditional agricultural practices on the catchment area presumed to preserve the quality of the Evian Natural Mineral Water, without buying any land around the catchment area, by financing agricultural related projects. It also demonstrates that the financial dimension of PES schemes may not be the most important one to explain their success. Defining precisely what is the issue, gathering all stakeholders, sharing knowledge and building trust are all important components of a successful PES, even if they are creating a system defined by high transaction costs. Lessons learned from the Evian case study should help designing and implementing PES schemes in Europe and contribute to the development of preventive policies.