Bridging the policy and investment gap for payment for ecosystem services: learning from the Costa Rican experience and roads ahead
GGGI published a report titled, ‘Bridging the Policy and Investment Gap for Payment for Ecosystem Services: Learning from the Costa Rican Experience and Roads Ahead’. This report provides findings based on the Costa Rican experiences that are beneficial for countries around the world implementing Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes. In this report, it is noted that from 2000 to 2010, over 5 million hectares of forest were lost per year globally, with the agricultural sector contributing to an estimated 80% of this loss. As forests are lost, the knock-on economic, environmental, and social benefits of ecosystem services provided by forests are lost as well (e.g. sequestrating carbon dioxide, regulating hydrological systems, hosting biodiversity, etc.). As a result, it is estimated that deforestation and forest degradation account for roughly 11% of total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is a common occurrence especially in developing countries with high rates of population growth, where land is intertwined with livelihood, and governments are forced to make tough choices between competing land uses.