Payments for Environmental Services in Watersheds: Insights From a Comparative Study of three Cases in Central America

We have compared three cases of payments for water-related environmental services (PES) in Central America, in terms of socioeconomic background, opportunity costs of forest conservation and stakeholders’ perceptions on the conditions of water resources and other issues. We found that, in general, the foregone benefits from land uses alternative to forest cover are larger than the amount paid, which apparently contradicts the economic foundation of PES schemes. A number of possible explanations are explored. The results also suggest that trade-offs between different environmental and social goals are likely to emerge in PES schemes, posing some doubts on their ability to be multipurpose instruments for environmental improvement and rural development. We also found that PES schemes may work as a conflictresolution instrument, facilitating downstream -upstream problem solving, though at the same time they might introduce changes in social perceptions of property rights.environmental services, watershed management, rural development, property rights, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua.

Lessons from Yanacocha: assessing mining impacts on hydrological systems and water distribution in the Cajamarca region, Peru

A major concern of mining activities is their influence on hydrological systems. This article highlights impacts on water flows and distribution in the Mashcon catchment in Cajamarca, Peru, one of those most affected by the Yanacocha mining project. Some important concerns are identified regarding changes in water flows, lowering of water tables, and decrease of base flows. These considerations indicate deficiencies in distributing actual water uses in relation to the allocation of water rights. Finally, the article discusses challenges for regulation of mining, including democratic processes for water management that require clear accountability in the context of local social needs.status: publishe

Diverse ecological, economic and socio-cultural values of a traditional common natural resource management system in the Moroccan High Atlas: the Aït Ikiss Tagdalts

International audienceThis study examines the multiple dimensions of the agdal system, a traditional Berber form of environmental management that regulates access to communal natural resources so as to allow the regeneration of natural resources. In fact, this ingenious system of agro-pastoral land rotation is ultimately beneficial for the conservation of the bio-physical environment, the performance of the present-day local economy and the maintenance of prevailing social cohesion and cultural coherence. Hence, agdals constitute a key element for the reinforcement of the sustainability of existing agro-pastoral societies and ecosystems, but need to be better understood in order to explore necessary adaptations in the changing world of today

As a lock to a key? Why science is more than just an instrument to pay for nature's services

Scholars have argued that the success of conservation instruments depends on improved scientific knowledge in linking ecosystem functioning with value-reflecting prices to optimize the production and delivery of ecosystem services (ES). However, these scholars assume that greater sophistication of scientific inquiry rests on ES thinking, without recognizing that the ES framework represents one social rationality in articulating human–nature relationships. Here, we discuss why a singular focus on ‘getting the science right’ for environmental policy oversimplifies the many socio-political consequences underlying the use of ES as an ‘objective’ science. We argue that the process of doing science through reflection on social diversity and power dimensions better reveals the extent to which PES interventions are perceived, debated, negotiated and strategically adapted.SCOPUS: re.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Molecular Phylogeny of Hantaviruses Harbored by Insectivorous Bats in Côte d’Ivoire and Vietnam

International audienc