CHALLENGE
Payment for Environmental Services (PES) programs have become increasingly important as an incentive mechanism for conserving biodiversity and maintaining the provision of ecosystem services. Since 2012, with the Forest Code Law, PES has become one of the incentive mechanisms provided for the conservation of forest remnants on private properties, although one of the main challenges for its implementation in Brazil is long-term financial sustainability.

Payments made within the scope of PES programs must guarantee the providers of environmental services (usually farmers) a benefit greater than that of habitual practices on their property, so that they remain motivated in the long term. Another challenge is related to the costs of implementing and maintaining program activities, which involve diagnosis, restoration and conservation, fencing of areas, monitoring, among others.

In this context, the work sought to structure a model for implementing PES, with a focus on its financial sustainability, with the aim of optimizing the PES initiatives underway in the state of Santa Catarina, as well as facilitating the “path of stones” for new initiatives that may emerge, in order to enhance their chances of success.

DEVELOPMENT
The aim of the project in question was to develop an Economic Viability and Sustainability Model Plan for Payment for Environmental Services (PES) programs that can be customized and applied to the implementation of PES programs in Santa Catarina, with a view to maintaining natural areas and improving the provision of ecosystem services in the state. The development of the model relied on extensive research into the literature and successful national and international PES cases, as well as the participation in technical discussions of the SDE team and institutional players who make up the governance of three PES programs underway in the state of Santa Catarina: (i) in the Morro da Palha watershed, in São Francisco do Sul, (ii) in the Vermelho River watershed, in São Bento do Sul, and (iii) in the Cubatão River basin, located in the Greater Florianópolis region.

RESULT
As a result of the project, a methodology (step-by-step) for implementing PES was drawn up and a prototype support tool for planning and monitoring PES programs was developed, called the “PES Calculator”.