IIED Conference: Innovations for equity in Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES)

On March 21, IIED hosted a conference that aimed to explore the latest thinking on how to make schemes that compensate protectors of natural resources fairer and more inclusive. More than 70 people attended the event at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh - relive the day as it happened.

  1. Off to an @IIED workshop on PES on my day off. Goodness I must be keen. #poverty #biodiversity
  2. The event brought together researchers and practitioners, including our partners who travelled far and wide to join us for a series of sessions and lively debates.
  3. Really looking forward to @IIED "innovations for equity in smallholder payment for #ecosystemservices" at the @TheBotanics today
  4. Event starts soon. Delegates have come together to share knowledge of successes and failures of payments for #ecosystemservices schemes.
  5. We kicked off the day with a simple question from our keynote speaker, but one with a more complex answer...
  6. Can payments for #ecosystemservices reduce poverty? Paul Van Gardingen, Director @espadirectorate asks in opening speech. The answer is yes!
  7. But...we need to think about equity. Badly designed payment for #ecosystemservices schemes can enhance poverty...#sustainablemarkets
  8. The first session of the day focused on sharing experiences of strategies used to promote the inclusion of local communities in PES schemes...
  9. How do you design payments #ecosystemservices schemes to reach poor? Theme of next session- includes case studies from Costa Rica & Uganda
  10. Which included a case study from IIED's very own Ina Porras on Costa Rica...
  11. Ina Porras Env. Economist, IIED highlights 20 years of Payments for Ecosytems Services in Costa Rica #ecosystemservices #sustainablemarkets
  12. BACKGROUND reading: Learning from 20 years of payments #ecosystemservices in Costa Rica, from @IIED's Ina Porras  http://pubs.iied.org/16514IIED 
  13. And Mexico...
  14. Today at #sustainablemarkets in Edinburgh Botanical Gardens, now Richard Tipper talking about @Plan_Vivo in Chiapas,Mexico
  15. Our next speaker @RichardTipper from @ecometrica is talking about an early community forest carbon project in Mexico #ecosystemservices
  16. Great closing remark from @RichardTipper: Not about us telling local people what to do, it's about us helping people decide on the best plan
  17. And Uganda...
  18. Paul Hatanga talking about a pilot scheme of 140 villages in Uganda that pays farmers to conserve #forests @ngambachimps #ecosystemservices
  19. PES Challenges r unclear land tenure, short term vs long term benefits & more from Paul Hatanga, Chimpanzee Trust #ecosystemservices @IIED
  20. A full house has led to a great Q&A discussion, rounding up the first of today's three sessions #ecosystemservices http://t.co/H5BvfVRIBs
    A full house has led to a great Q&A discussion, rounding up the first of today's three sessions #ecosystemservices pic.twitter.com/H5BvfVRIBs
  21. Time for lunch (in the sun!) after a great morning session.We'll be back from 1pm to talk about different payment formats #ecosystemservices
  22. Session two focused on sharing lessons from research carried out to understand how local communities prefer to be paid for protecting their natural resources...
  23. Back from lunch now and hearing about a project in Uganda to try to understand farmers preferences for payments #ecosystemservices
  24. Our very own Dr Essam Mohammed is now presenting his research into payments for Hilsa fish conservation in Bangladesh #ecosystemservices
  25. The question of how to scale up PES schemes was raised and examples given...
  26. How do we scale up payments #ecosystemservices schemes? Examples from @Plan_Vivo: project scaled up from 18 to 236 smallholders over 3 years
  27. And there was then a chance for practitioners to let us know how all of this research can be applied in practice...
  28. We’re hearing from practitioners+how research can be applied to their work. It's all about 'adaptive management', Pauline Nantongo,ECOTRUST
  29. And as we head back to today's #ecosystemservices and #sustainablemarkets conference, here's a montage of images http://t.co/AL3dehsEtf
    And as we head back to today's #ecosystemservices and #sustainablemarkets conference, here's a montage of images pic.twitter.com/AL3dehsEtf
  30. And last but not least, the final session turned our focus to funding PES schemes...
  31. We're now learning about carbon offsets from certified projects managed by local communities... http://www.zeromission.se/en/  #ecosystemservices
  32. .@IIED Equity in #PES event hears from @martenlind of @uandwe on critical success factors for selling #ecosystemservices to voluntary market
  33. To close the day, delegates were able to spend an hour reflecting on the day's discussions and thinking about what next for PES schemes and how best to continue to share knowledge and ideas. Exciting times ahead, so watch this space!
  34. Time for a final coffee break. Will be back soon when Steve Bass, Head of @IIED's #sustainablemarkets group will conclude and sum up...
  35. Final session of the day and reflecting on the current state of play in payments for #ecosystemservices http://t.co/tN4Apad1yB
    Final session of the day and reflecting on the current state of play in payments for #ecosystemservices pic.twitter.com/tN4Apad1yB
  36. Right that's the end of our event coverage for today. Thanks for tuning in, bye from Edinburgh + have a great weekend!
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