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Institutional analysis of payments for watershed services in the western United States

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  • Huber-Stearns, Heidi R.
  • Goldstein, Joshua H.
  • Cheng, Antony S.
  • Toombs, Theodore P.

Abstract

Payments for watershed services (PWS) have emerged as one of the fastest growing segments of the broader conservation strategy of payments for ecosystem services over the past decade. Institutional factors are key to the design and performance of PWS, yet empirical research remains a gap in the literature. Here, we collected and analysed information on the institutional characteristics of the 41 active PWS programs in 2012 in the western United States, a region containing one of the highest concentrations of PWS globally. Cluster analysis identified four main groupings around buyer types and management actions. Many programs pursued a PWS structure as a new approach, often including participants in new roles (e.g., nongovernmental organizations as facilitating transactions), to comply with existing regulations or addressing escalating water resource threats. Our results highlight the important interactions between overarching regional factors (e.g., federal policies, water rights) and diverse local conditions (e.g., land ownership, resource challenges) in shaping the institutional structure of individual PWS programs. A key gap remains collecting robust information on PWS performance. As such, this work provides a baseline for future longitudinal institutional analysis to link program structure and performance to inform PWS research and practice.

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  • Huber-Stearns, Heidi R. & Goldstein, Joshua H. & Cheng, Antony S. & Toombs, Theodore P., 2015. "Institutional analysis of payments for watershed services in the western United States," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 83-93.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoser:v:16:y:2015:i:c:p:83-93
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2015.10.009
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Del Rossi, Gemma & Hecht, Jory S. & Zia, Asim, 2021. "A mixed-methods analysis for improving farmer participation in agri-environmental payments for ecosystem services in Vermont, USA," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    4. Lien, Aaron M. & Schlager, Edella & Lona, Ashly, 2018. "Using institutional grammar to improve understanding of the form and function of payment for ecosystem services programs," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 31(PA), pages 21-31.
    5. Sheng, Jichuan & Webber, Michael, 2018. "Using incentives to coordinate responses to a system of payments for watershed services: The middle route of South–North Water Transfer Project, China," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 32(PA), pages 1-8.
    6. Jones, Kelly W. & Gannon, Benjamin & Timberlake, Thomas & Chamberlain, James L. & Wolk, Brett, 2022. "Societal benefits from wildfire mitigation activities through payments for watershed services: Insights from Colorado," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    7. Tran, Thi Thu Huong & Zeller, Manfred & Suhardiman, Diana, 2016. "Payments for ecosystem services in Hoa Binh province, Vietnam: An institutional analysis," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 22(PA), pages 83-93.
    8. Cyphers, Laren A. & Schultz, Courtney A., 2019. "Policy design to support cross-boundary land management: The example of the Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration Partnership," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 362-369.
    9. van den Belt, Marjan & Stevens, Sharon M., 2016. "Transformative agenda, or lost in the translation? A review of top-cited articles in the first four years of Ecosystem Services," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 22(PA), pages 60-72.
    10. Hao Wang & Sander Meijerink & Erwin van der Krabben, 2020. "Institutional Design and Performance of Markets for Watershed Ecosystem Services: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-26, August.
    11. Sheng, Jichuan & Webber, Michael, 2017. "Incentive-compatible payments for watershed services along the Eastern Route of China’s South-North Water Transfer Project," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 213-226.
    12. Waylen, Kerry A. & Martin-Ortega, Julia, 2018. "Surveying views on Payments for Ecosystem Services: Implications for environmental management and research," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 29(PA), pages 23-30.
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    14. Agboola, Oluwagbenga David & Yu, Han, 2023. "Neighborhood-based cross fitting approach to treatment effects with high-dimensional data," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).

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