Iniciativas municipais de pagamentos por serviços ambientais no Brasil: uma caracterização a partir da MUNIC - IBGE

Abstract

This article aims to characterize the municipal experiences of payments for environmental services (PSA) in Brazil, discussing its existence and permanence. The hypothesis is that geographic and institutional characteristics affect the presence and continuity of a municipal PSA. The Municipal Basic Information Survey (MUNIC-IBGE) was used to analyze PSA programs in 2012, 2017, and 2020. It was found that the number of municipalities with PES has been growing over time, but in most cases, the program was discontinued. A set of variables related to the establishment and continuity of the PSA was identified, the frequency of which is more significant in municipalities with a larger area or territory, located in the Center-West, Southeast, and North, which have a Municipal Council and an Environmental Fund. The results corroborate the hypothesis that the success of the PES depends on local circumstances, including environmental governance at the municipal level. The results help to understand why the potential resources estimated in the literature for PSA are much higher than the relatively small volume of projects already implemented in Brazil.