Abstract:

To supply environmental services, landowners incur costs which should be compensated and estimating these costs lies at the very heart of an efficient conservation program. In support of the development of a PES project in the Campohermoso watershed in Colombia, 114 farms were surveyed regarding their own perceived value of the property. A hedonic method was used to infer land values for all land plots in the study area based on land characteristics and access to markets. The opportunity cost of conservation for farmers in the Campohermoso watershed was determined to be US$877 per hectare per year on average. However, the regression analysis revealed that opportunity costs to conservation vary considerably between properties and are dependent on the environmental and spatial characteristics of the plot. Targeting properties with low cost but high additional service provision can therefore increase efficiency significantly. Offering differentiated payment to participants based on potential service provision may also successfully increase the performance of the PES project in the Campohermoso watershed.

Download the thesis Payments for Environmental Services in the Campohermoso watershed.