Mexico’s Pago por Servicios
28
Protecting people and the environment: Lessons learnt from Brazil’s Bolsa Verde,
China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, South Africa and 56 other experiences
programme was designed within eight months taking into account a number of national and international experiences, including Costa Rica’s and Mexico’s PES schemes. The
MAE preferred to quickly launch the programme and adapt it afterwards on a learning-by- doing basis. For this reason, regional workshops have served as a platform for exchange of
experiences between participants and non-participants. By December 2013, 1.23 million hectares of forests were included under Socio Bosque. The aim is to eventually cover a
total of 4 million hectares, equivalent to 66 per cent of Ecuador’s non-protected forests Ministerio del Ambiente de Ecuador, 2014.
Socio Bosque rewards private and communal landowners with regular monetary payments for conserving native forests. Since 2009, the Andean high plateaus, known as
páramos, were included. From 2013 onwards, active and passive forest restoration is also rewarded. Socio Bosque explicitly acknowledges that all four types of environmental
services, as described in Chapter 2, are delivered by forests. Non-destructive uses, such as subsistence hunting and gathering of non-timber products, continue to be permitted, as
well as productive activities on non-forested land. The main objective is the conservation of forests, wasteland, and native vegetation and their ecological, economic, and cultural
values. Socio Bosque also includes the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions that are
associated with deforestation and have therefore become one of the pillars of Ecuador’s national REDD+ strategy. The third objective is the improvement of living conditions of
people in the forests. The latter has been clearly formulated and taken into account during the design process. Thus, principles, such as fairness and equitability, positive incentives
rather than prohibitive clauses not, simplicity, transparency, and legal enforcement, were formulated Ministerio del Ambiente de Ecuador, 2014; Fehse, 2012.
Private and communal landholders, including indigenous communities, are eligible for the programme. As of December 2013, there were 161,755 participants, with plans to
include up to 1 million people. In January 2013, 7 per cent of the participants were communities contributing to 88 per cent of the conserved hectares of land, while 93 per
cent of participants were individuals, contributing 12 per cent of the land Ministerio del Ambiente de Ecuador, 2014. During the design process, the question was raised whether
targeting should be done according to poverty level or to environmental needs Fehse, 2012. Targeting criteria now include both and participants are chosen according to a
ranking system consisting of the following: 1 risk of deforestation 9 points; 2 importance of native forests for carbon storage, water provision services, and biodiversity
habitat 10 points; and 3 poverty level in the region based on the unsatisfied basic needs index 3 points.
To apply, interested landowners or communities need to provide the necessary documents, which include proof of ownership or legal possession of the land, a copy of the
identification card and, if applicable, a copy of the Registro Único de Contribuyentes tax identification number RUC, as well as a certificate of a bank account, a tax certificate,
and a geo-referenced map of the area that is to be conserved. Communities additionally need to present a document that validates the legal representative, the Acta de Asamblea
assembly protocol, and a copy of the statutes of the community. Individuals and communities also need to present a Plan de Inversión investment plan on how the
conservation payments will be spent.
28
There are no restrictions on the use of the money, but it is encouraged to invest in education, health, and infrastructure development. The
plan increases transparency in the decision-making process within communities and ensures that all members of the community are informed. It is also used for monitoring
socio-economic impacts see below. Communities can be trained for preparing,
28
See the form under: http:sociobosque.ambiente.gob.ec?q=node232; http:sociobosque.ambiente.gob.ecfilesimagesarticulosarchivosformato-plan-inversion-participativo.pdf.
Protecting people and the environment: Lessons learnt from Br azil’s Bolsa Verde,
China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, South Africa and 56 other experiences
29
implementing, and evaluating the plans Ministerio del Ambiente de Ecuador, 2014; Fehse, 2012.
After the application has been received, field promoters of the MAE’s implementing team verify the land. If the application is approved, future participants sign a short standard
conservation agreement with the MAE based on a voluntary opt-in approach.
29
This agreement refers to a book with extended rules as well as to applicable national laws. It is
foreseen that participants receive professional legal assistance to fully understand the standard agreement. This is to be supported by the field promoters. In addition, the MAE
together with other organizations are training community paralegals for that purpose Fehse, 2012.
The agreements are valid for 20 years with indefinite renewals if participants do not opt out. However, participants are allowed to request an early termination of the
agreement. The duration of 20 years was carefully considered with the objective to be long enough to make an impact on livelihoods and promote a change in land use towards
conservation. Payment is made twice each year. Payment levels are only differentiated according to the size of the area under contract, thus establishing a bias in favour of small
properties with the objective to address social equity. Thus, payment per hectare decreases with an increase in the number of total hectares Fehse, 2012; FONAFIFO, CONAFOR,
and Ministry of Environment, 2012; de Koning, 2011.
The MAE has signed cooperation agreements with civil society organizations to provide programme participants with capacity strengthening workshops, for example, on
control and surveillance or financial management. Since 2013, regional courses to train individual voluntary inspectors and communal forest protectors have been developed. As
an additional benefit, an agreement with the Banco de Fomento, a public bank that promotes rural development, was made that allows participants to use cash transfer
programmes as guarantees and thus gives participants access to credit FONAFIFO, CONAFOR, and Ministry of Environment, 2012, p. 48.
Socio Bosque is financed and conducted by the MAE, which has created an implementation team consisting of staff working in the central office and promoters in
different regions. In addition, the programme established several alliances with civil society organizations, such as conservation and development NGOs and indigenous and
farmers’ organizations de Koning, 2011. Up until December 2013,
Socio Bosque’s total costs amounted to 18 million, which were completely financed by the Ecuadorian Government using the general budget of the
MAE. Since 2014, the Government developed a strategy to ensure financing for the 20 year-long contracts by diversifying the income sources e.g. new green taxes, payments by
industry, international funds, and REDD+ payments.
30
However, even with these new income sources, the Government still continues to be the largest contributor. The
programme foresees that at least 70 per cent of the budget is to be spent on conservation payments. However, administration costs currently still account for about 40 per cent,
among them monitoring costs amount to 10-15 per cent of the total budget FONAFIFO, CONAFOR, and Ministry of Environment, 2012, p. 117.
Participants agree to be subject to annual monitoring. Environmental monitoring is done through satellite imagery or aerial photography and field visits. This turned out to be
more costly and difficult than expected, due to cloud interference and small-scale deforestation that is difficult to detect via satellite images. Therefore, more field visits were
29
See the agreement under: http:sociobosque.ambiente.gob.ec?q=node198.
30
Currently the German Cooperation Bank KFW provides non-refundable support of around 12 million.
30
Protecting people and the environment: Lessons learnt from Brazil’s Bolsa Verde,
China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, South Africa and 56 other experiences
required and a high number of small land areas increased travel costs. Social monitoring is conducted by reviewi
ng the participants’ regular spending reports against the investment plans and verifications during field visits. Payments are conditional on performance and
non-compliance may result in suspension of payments or termination of the agreement. If the contract is prematurely terminated, part of the grant may have to be repaid to the
programme. The amount decreases with the number of years of participation and is subject to a negotiation process with the MEA that is based on the reasons for cancellation. Since
the original design of the programme has taken into account that a conflict of goals could be generated between the enforcement of the agreement and the social acceptability of
potential sanctions in case of non-compliance, it is stated that the decision should be balanced such that outcomes are positive for all parties. Thus, enforcement of
environmental conditions in the contract takes into account the level of poverty on a case- by-case basis FONAFIFO, CONAFOR, and Ministry of Environment, 2012; Fehse,
2012.