Using Payments for Ecosystem Services to Protect Water Resources

  • A four-minute video summarizes the work done by researchers from EfD-CA at CATIE to provide a PES scheme for two watersheds in Jamaica 

March 6, 2020. The experience of more than 15 years in the design of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) was fundamental for researchers from the Environment for Development Central America (EfD-CA), at CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center), to be able to work on the design of a proposal for a PES scheme for the watersheds of the rivers, Yallahs and Hope, in Jamaica. 

"The main problem we have is water," said Hubert Grant, of Hagley Gap, of the community of Saint Thomas, in Kingston, capital of Jamaica. His testimony is presented in a four-minute video, which was prepared by EfD-CA to publicize this experience and the importance of having sustainable economic instruments, such as PES, that allow the conservation and management of water resources. 

Róger Madrigal, director of EfD-CA, and director of the Latin-American Chair of Environment Decisions for Global Change (CLADA, by its Spanish acronym), of CATIE, highlighted that this PES is an innovative policy for watershed management in Jamaica and it has the potential for replicability in other watersheds of the Caribbean. Also, the researcher added that it is important that more people understand this type of economic tools, and how they can benefit a community. 

Particularly, the developed PES scheme is of great importance because, among other aspects, the two basins included proved water and other ecosystem services to approximately 667,000 residents of Kingston and its surroundings. 

The video, which is available in English, can be seen here: 

Researchers from EfD-CA made a proposal for a Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) scheme in Yallahs and Hope Watersheds (YHW), in coordination with the Government of Jamaica and other relevant stakeholders of the country.

 

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News | 8 May 2020