Brazilian payment for environmental services programs emphasize water-related services

Based on user pays and provider gets principles, the Payment for Environmental Services (PES) consists of providing economic incentives or compensation for land users who adopt activities that promote ecosystem services. These PES initiatives have grown rapidly in Brazil over the last few decades, however, studies that address the panorama of these programs in the country are still scarce, regional, or outdated. Here, we investigate the PES overview in Brazil through interviews and an extensive literature review. We found in total 80 PES programs implemented in Brazil, of which 14 were closed. The pro-grams are poorly distributed across the country, mostly concentrated in the Atlantic Forest (56.25%) and Savanna (36.25%) biomes, in Southeastern Brazil. The majority of programs primarily prioritize improving water quality and quantity. Therefore, reforestation, protection of native vegetation, and soil and water conservation are their main proposed practices. The positive impacts of Brazil's PES experi-ences are evident; while the lack of transparency and monitoring, and poor spatial and financial dis-tribution are still major limitations. We conclude that if correctly implemented, PES schemes offer a path to reconcile environmental conservation with agricultural production in Brazil.(c) 2023 International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation, China Water and Power Press, and China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY -NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

Based on the principles of user pays and provider gets, Payment for Environmental Services (PES) provides economic incentives or compensation to land users who engage in activities promoting ecosystem services. Despite the rapid growth of PES initiatives in Brazil, there is a lack of comprehensive, up-to-date studies on these programs in the country. Through interviews and literature reviews, this study investigates the overview of PES in Brazil and identifies 80 implemented programs, with the majority concentrated in the Atlantic Forest and Savanna biomes in Southeastern Brazil. The main focus of these programs is on improving water quality and quantity, with proposed practices including reforestation, protection of native vegetation, and soil and water conservation. While Brazil's PES experiences have shown positive impacts, major limitations include lack of transparency and monitoring, as well as inequitable spatial and financial distribution.