Developing pro-poor markets for environmental services in the Philippines

TR Number
Date
2003
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
London: International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
Abstract

This study reviews the various efforts made in the Philippines to develop markets for different types of environmental service, and also discusses the institutional support mechanisms that have emerged. It identifies a number of market initiatives already in operation, mostly in the form of entrance fees to national parks, but shows that for other types of environmental service, much preparatory work for market development has been done in the form of valuation studies and proposals for payment mechanisms. Government involvement has been key to market development in the Philippines but there have also been some community-based initiatives involving non-financial benefits such as protection from encroachment and squatting in return for improved land management practices. The study tests a framework for evaluating and monitoring markets for environmental services in two cases: a protected area and a Department of Energy reforestation and environmental management fund. The conclusion drawn is that environmental investments are not likely to happen unless the basic social services of communities are met.

Description
Keywords
Carbon sequestration, Payments for environmental services, Land use management, Government institutions, Markets, Poverty, Reforestation, Tourism, Government, Biodiversity conservation, Market initiatives, Entrance fees, Economic valuation, Payment mechanisms, Incentive systems, Market development, Institutional support mechanisms, Landscape beauty, Watershed protection, Waste disposal, National integrated protected areas system (nipas), Markets for Environmental Services (MES), Monitoring
Citation
Markets for Environmental Services 3