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Revising Payment for Ecosystem Services in the Light of Stewardship: The Need for a Legal Framework

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  • Alessandra Solazzo

    (Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge CB1-1PN, UK)

  • Aled Jones

    (Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge CB1-1PN, UK)

  • Nigel Cooper

    (Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge CB1-1PN, UK)

Abstract

Since the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) highlighted the importance of ecosystem services for human well-being, the payments for such services have increasingly been drawing the attention of governments, the private sector and academia. Nonetheless, there is not yet a specific legal framework which is able to capture the complexity of managing natural resources and, at the same time, deal with the numerous drawbacks that have been identified by critics, who are opposed to using financialisation of the environment as a tool. This paper, after briefly summarizing some of the main features and criticisms of the Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), will critically assess the understanding of property rights over natural resources as stewardship, rather than as entitlement, because this interpretation is more coherent with the inherent characteristics of natural resources and, consequently, of ecosystem services. The novel usage of a stewardship dimension to property rights underlines the necessity for a legal framework for PES, constituted by “property-liability rules”.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessandra Solazzo & Aled Jones & Nigel Cooper, 2015. "Revising Payment for Ecosystem Services in the Light of Stewardship: The Need for a Legal Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-15, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:7:y:2015:i:11:p:15449-15463:d:59176
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Muradian, Roldan & Corbera, Esteve & Pascual, Unai & Kosoy, Nicolás & May, Peter H., 2010. "Reconciling theory and practice: An alternative conceptual framework for understanding payments for environmental services," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 1202-1208, April.
    2. Pirard, Romain, 2012. "Payments for Environmental Services (PES) in the public policy landscape: “Mandatory” spices in the Indonesian recipe," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 23-29.
    3. Kosoy, Nicolás & Corbera, Esteve, 2010. "Payments for ecosystem services as commodity fetishism," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 1228-1236, April.
    4. Kemkes, Robin J. & Farley, Joshua & Koliba, Christopher J., 2010. "Determining when payments are an effective policy approach to ecosystem service provision," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 2069-2074, September.
    5. Martinez-Alier, Joan & Munda, Giuseppe & O'Neill, John, 1998. "Weak comparability of values as a foundation for ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 277-286, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Chan, Kai M.A. & Anderson, Emily & Chapman, Mollie & Jespersen, Kristjan & Olmsted, Paige, 2017. "Payments for Ecosystem Services: Rife With Problems and Potential—For Transformation Towards Sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 110-122.
    2. De la Varga Pastor, Aitana & Pons Solé, Joan, 2018. "Innovative legal tools applied in land stewardship for the conservation of ecosystem services in Catalonia," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 29(PB), pages 395-403.
    3. Liu, Wenjing & Wang, Jingsheng & Li, Chao & Chen, Baoxiong & Sun, Yufang, 2019. "Using Bibliometric Analysis to Understand the Recent Progress in Agroecosystem Services Research," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 293-305.

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