ABSTRACT
The 17 chapters that form this book give us a good sample of the current developments, successes and challenges of payment for ecosystem services (PES) in Latin America. We reviewed the approaches, methods, tools and applications required to estimate ecosystem service provision related to agricultural land management. We presented methods to assess the value of ecosystem services, and potential means to provide payment for the same. We also compared the PES schemes, including eco-labelling, as alternative means to reward environmentally friendly land husbandry. The case studies provided insights on specific issues at the heart of PES development and sustainability (i.e. access to funding, targeting, monitoring, articulation with other mechanisms such as collective management of watersheds, as well as the institutional and political context required for successful PES development).
