In addition to providing food and raw materials, ecosystems and the natural environment provide "indirect" environmental/ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, watershed protection, aquifer recharge and biodiversity habitat provision, that support human economies and societies.
As economies expand and populations grow, the need to protect ecosystems in order to maintain the flow of environmental/ecosystem services is also increasing. At the same time ecosystems are subject to growing pressure due to land-use change and the growing demand for food, energy, water and raw materials. They are also at risk due to climate change processes. Since ecosystems such as forests play an important role in mitigating climate change (via carbon sequestration) and adapting to climate change (disaster mitigation and regulation of the hydrological cycle) the services that they provide are in increasing demand.
The supply of ecosystem services is under threat as those who hold land use rights make land use decisions that favour their own immediate economic gain over the long term benefits to the wider society. Immediate economic benefit from sustainable resource management does not reflect the ecosystem services provided, because ecosystem services are not usually paid for by those who benefit from them. Their importance is therefore easily overlooked by fiscal policymakers, planners and those who hold land use rights, both publicly and privately.
Environmental services concepts facilitate the development of natural resources management strategies that explicitly benefit the economy and society. Payments for environmental services (PES) allow the costs of environmental services (unpaid) to be reflected in the economy, thereby building a more eco-efficient economy. Policies to support PES also multiply the number of stakeholders who can become investors in natural capital, and expand the financing available for the management of key ecosystem services.
The application of environmental services concepts and payments for environmental services therefore fits within UNESCAP's 'green growth' approach to sustainable development - synergizing economic growth and environmental protection and developing more sustainable patterns of economic growth.
UNESCAP/EDD 's role
UNESCAP as a UN Regional Commission promotes the sharing of experiences between regional countries. Several countries are engaged in discussions on PES and are beginning to initiate policy changes around PES, but progress is slow. The lessons learned from the ongoing research and PES policy and pilot initiatives should be shared.
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