Private provision of public goods : applying matching methods to evaluate payments for ecosystem services in Costa Rica
Date
2008
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Publisher
Latin American and Caribbean Environmental Economics Program (LACEEP), Turrialba CR
Abstract
Ecosystem Services (ES) are the benefits that people derive from the biophysical environment. Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) is a policy innovation attracting attention in both developed and developing countries. This policy brief examines PES developed over a decade in Costa Rica. In the Programa de Pagos por Servicios Ambientales (PSA) landowners agree to conserve their forests and establish reforestation, afforestation, or agroforestry areas. In return, they receive a per-hectare annual payment from a State-run national forest fund. The paper presents an analysis of the causal effect of PSA contracts with results indicating significant and positive outcomes in the establishment of new forests.
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Keywords
SUBSIDIES, REFORESTATION, FOREST CONSERVATION, FORESTRY, AFFORESTATION, ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS, DEFORESTATION, ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, COSTA RICA, NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA