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  Getting Started:
An Introductory Primer to Assessing and Developing Payments for Ecosystem Service Deals
Getting Started is an introductory resource on developing payments for ecosystem services (PES) agreements. The primer aims to:
- Highlight key questions to assess whether engaging in PES is appropriate for a particular locale and community,
- Lay out core factors that will shape the success, sustainability, and buy-in of stakeholders,
- Describe the series of actions during PES planning and entering into negotiations with potential buyers, and
- Offer resources to aid in the crafting and implementation of PES.
Click on each of the steps below for more information about how to get started with payments for ecosystem services. In each step, you can download relevant resources, submitted by Katoomba partners, to help guide you along the way.
The Steps for
Getting Started with PES |
Katoomba Member and
Partner Resource |
 Step 1: Identify Ecosystem Services and Potential Deal
The first step in developing a PES project is to identify the ecosystem services you could provide and evaluate potential deals.
Getting Started walks you through:
- Define and measure ecosystem services
- Assessing their marketable financial value and sustainability
- Identifying potential buyers
- Evaluating your strengths and challenges as a ‘seller’ of ecosystem services
In this section, you will find tips for assessing carbon sequestration in a particular area; notes to assess the potential for water and biodiversity PES deals; information about organizations that measure and monitor carbon stocks on land, tips on land use and hydrology interactions, and an example of tools for watershed measurement.
REMEMBER TO KEEP IN MIND …
- Multiple groups may be responsible for the quality of the ecosystem service being sold
- Quality information enables monitoring the quantities and flow of ecosystem services
- Securing the right value for your ecosystem service depends on information and preparation to negotiate with buyers
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Step 2: Assess Institutional & Technical Capacity
Step two offers guidelines for assessing key institutional needs for designing PES deals, focusing on:
- Assessing existence of supportive laws and policies for PES
- Clarifying land tenure and property rights in a prospective PES deal region
- Examining existing rules for trading in your market of choice
- Identifying support institutions and organizations to supplement your expertise
Check out this section to:
- find more information on the politics of PES,
- learn about local institutional capacity issues,
- understand the interaction between PES and poverty alleviation through real life examples, and
- identify the questions to ask about the laws, policies and guidelines that will impact your project.
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Step 3: Structure Agreements
With these foundations, you can begin:
- Designing a basic management and business plan to provide the service
- Defining ways to reduce transaction costs
- Considering suitable payment mechanisms
- Defining elements of the contract and other financial provisions of the agreement
The primer provides tips on adaptive management, institutional innovations that allow you to reduce transaction costs, examples of existing contracts, and access to a wide range of related key resource articles.
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Step 4: Implement Transactions & Payments
The final step in developing payments for ecosystem services focuses on initiating the project, as well as in the design of monitoring, evaluation, certification and verification frameworks.
REMEMBER THAT…
The ability to continue monitoring outcomes and reporting results to show progress over time is imperative for the success of a PES mechanism from the perspective of the seller, the buyers and the environment.
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