46
Protecting people and the environment: Lessons learnt from Brazil’s Bolsa Verde,
China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, South Africa and 56 other experiences
5.2.3. Impacts on the community
A PES scheme can also strengthen or lead to the creation of community associations, especially if contracts are signed with the community or if agreements need to be
negotiated on a collective basis. In the latter case, coordination between possible providers at the community level can give the individual more bargaining power and decrease
transaction costs Pagiola et al., 2005; Leimona et al. 2009; Wunder 2005, Grieg-Gran et al. 2005; Rosa et al., 2004. However, community approaches can also cause conflicts and
exclusion within the community. It could, for example, cause an inequitable sharing of benefits and conflicts within the community if not all members understand and behave
according to the agreement. In the international literature, it has also been alerted that large cash injections into communities with weak institutional structures might increase fraud
and cause social conflict de Koning, 2011.
In Costa Rica, the trial to conclude group contracts was not successful in its first attempt as it caused conflicts as described earlier in this paper. It remains to be seen
whether the new attempt at group contracts will be more successful. The community focus is an important feature of the Mexican programme. The emphasis on community contracts
obliges communities to develop a common plan which needs collective decisions and collective management of forest resources. Thus, when applying collectively, a community
needs to present an assembly agreement that shows approval and commitment of the community, as well as a plan on how to use funds that was approved by the whole group.
This should prevent the exclusion of individual members. It seems that these approaches have improved the social capital of communities and that PSAH is an opportunity for
communities to strengthen capacities and organization UN-Redd, 2013, p.32. In Ecuador, communities can also apply. Similar to the Mexican approach, the investment plan serves
to increase transparency in the decision-making process and ensures that everyone is informed and included in the benefits. This is strengthened further as communities have to
document the process of elaborating the investment plan and submit the common agreements made de Koning, 2011. In China, on the contrary, the rather top-down
approach does not build upon community participation. In South Africa individual contractors apply for a project and select a team. Although eligible areas in Bolsa Verde
are mainly community owned andor public land, the PES itself pays and approaches individual families within the community. It is therefore an open question whether the
programme has an influence on the community or might even lead to conflicts between eligible and non-eligible families within one community. Hence, this question should be
raised in a possible evaluation of the programme. Given that other international experiences and even Bolsa Floresta present specific policies to strengthen the respective
communities, it could also be examined how Bolsa Verde could incorporate a community aspect in future.
5.2.4. Impacts on non-participating poor
As is often the case, not all poor people can participate in the PES. Thus, it is relevant to analyse whether those who do not participate are negatively affected by the PES scheme
Wunder, 2005; Grieg-Gran et al. 2005; Leimona et al., 2009; Pagiola, 2005; FAO, 2011; RECOFTC, 2009. This refers mainly to non-eligible or non-reached people living in the
targeted areas, but it can also include those living outside the targeted areas. The main negative impacts of concern for non-participating poor are a possible decrease of
employment possibilities andor an increase in living costs. Regarding the first aspect, the poorest tend to be employed in the most environmental threatening activities e.g. logging,
firewood and charcoal makers, extractors, farmhands, among others. As the objective of the PES is to stop these activities, people working in these sectors are likely to lose their
income sources. However, if alternative land use is promoted that requires the same amount of labour or even demands more labour, this negative impact can be prevented.
