A framework for assessing local PES proposals

PES (payment for ecosystem services) programmes require evaluation to ensure intended outcomes are realised. Although it is acknowledged that environmental consequences of PES schemes should be considered from a wider systems perspective, there is no recommendation on any evidence-based framework to support such assessment. A starting point to address this gap is that Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) offers advantages for the evaluation of local PES proposals by identifying whether an increase in ecosystem benefit from PES schemes is undermined by (1) displacement of environmental impact to another part of the agricultural product supply chain; (2) displacement of environmental impact to another impact category (environmental trade-offs); (3) indirect environmental effects within the landowners property (activity shifting); and (4) indirect environmental effects elsewhere (indirect land use change to compensate for loss of output where PES operates). However, LCA continues to remain an evolving field of science; as the analytic capability of LCA develops in terms of reducing uncertainty, including regional detail and economic and social aspects, it will further help for a more thorough assessment of land use policies such as PES schemes.