Sustainable Provision of Environmental Services

This book analyses the ability of a wide range of market-based instruments to improve the sustainable provision of environmental services. Based on his own field research and insights from the multi-stakeholder dialogue at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the author revisits the theoretical baseline assumptions of policy instruments to address the gap between the predictions provided by theory and the corresponding outcomes in practice. In particular, the author challenges the theory behind Payments for Environmental Services (PES), a concept derived from neoclassical welfare economics. This book shows that PES projects often lack financial sustainability, unless local entrepreneurs make use of the resulting new networks to create innovative markets for environmental goods. These hybrid forms of PES, driven by innovative local entrepreneurs, have become a reality, but are rarely acknowledged in the academic and policy circles dealing with PES. The author therefore calls for a shift of focus from regulation to innovation in projects and policies designed to improve the provision of environmental services. By highlighting the positive social impact of companies that become involved in hybrid PES schemes, this book will appeal to practitioners and policymakers involved in sustainable agriculture and environmental management as well as to scholars in the fields of political economy, global governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR).§