Do payments for forest ecosystem services generate double dividends? An integrated impact assessment of Vietnam's PES program

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) often serve multiple objectives, such as carbon emission reduction and poverty alleviation. However, the effectiveness of PES as an instrument to achieve these multiple objectives, in particular in a conservation-development context, is often questioned. This st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPloS one Vol. 13; no. 8; p. e0200881
Main Authors Phan, Thu-Ha Dang, Brouwer, Roy, Hoang, Long Phi, Davidson, Marc David
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Public Library of Science 01.08.2018
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects
Analysis
Biodiversity
Biology and Life Sciences
Conservation
Ecological footprint
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
Economic aspects
Economic impact
Ecosystem services
Emissions control
Empirical analysis
Environmental changes
Environmental studies
Forest ecosystems
Forest management
Forest protection
Forests
Households
Income
Income distribution
Inequality
People and Places
Poverty
Satellite imagery
Social Sciences
Socioeconomics
Terrestrial ecosystems
Vietnam
Water Systems and Global Change
WIMEK
Vietnam
United States > US
Netherlands
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Summary:Payments for ecosystem services (PES) often serve multiple objectives, such as carbon emission reduction and poverty alleviation. However, the effectiveness of PES as an instrument to achieve these multiple objectives, in particular in a conservation-development context, is often questioned. This study adds to the very limited empirical evidence base and investigates to what extent Vietnam's move to PES has helped protect forest ecosystems and improve local livelihoods and income inequality. We zoom in on Lam Dong province, where PES was first introduced in Vietnam in 2009. Changes in forest cover are analysed using satellite images over a period of 15 years (2000-2014). Socio-economic impacts are assessed based on rural household interviews with PES participants and non-participants as a control group over a period of 7 years (2008-2014). Our results show that PES contributes significantly to forest cover, the improvement of local livelihoods, and the reduction of income inequality.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0200881