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  • Matters Arising
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In defence of simplified PES designs

Nature Sustainability volume 3, pages 426–427 (2020)Cite this article

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Matters Arising to this article was published on 01 June 2020

The Original Article was published on 12 March 2018

arising from S. Wunder et al. Nature Sustainability https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-018-0036-x (2018)

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) schemes are underperforming. Wunder et al.1 conclude that this is because many projects are allowing local politics, rather than economistic theory, to dictate who participates, and how they are paid and sanctioned. While we appreciate their analysis, our view is that their work downplays key evidence about the importance of maintaining the legitimacy of PES schemes amongst local participants, and the wider range of social–ecological factors that may explain variability in PES effectiveness. We argue that simplification of such schemes, by enhancing local transparency and acceptability, can in fact be scientifically justified and central to project effectiveness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    G. Wells

  2. School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    C. Ryan & J. Fisher

  3. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    E. Corbera

Authors
  1. G. Wells
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  2. C. Ryan
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  3. J. Fisher
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  4. E. Corbera
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The article was conceived and written by all authors. G.W. coordinated the work.

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Correspondence to G. Wells.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Wells, G., Ryan, C., Fisher, J. et al. In defence of simplified PES designs. Nat Sustain 3, 426–427 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0544-3

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