Problems of implementation of payments for environmental services policies in Brazil

Abstract

This article discusses the difficulties of implementing payment for environmental services (PES) policies, typically thought of from the reality of developed countries, in a context of institutional fragility and lack of political priority, and centered on the experience of Brazilian municipal administrations. This study presents preliminary results from empirical research about municipal PES experiences in Brazil in 2017 and 2020. The results show that PES local programs did not expand in Brazil as expected, being restricted to 15% of municipalities, and less than one-third of the municipalities with a positive answer in 2017 repeated the same response in 2020. The analysis found that some characteristics are associated with the continuity in PES programs: population, territory, regional location, and existing institutional capacity for environmental management. The results reinforce the conclusion that there is no universal formula for the successful implementation of PES systems. They depend on specific circumstances to be implemented, including institutional capacities by local administrations, and these elements require more attention and research in the academic literature, especially in environmental Economics, which tends to present them as universal solutions.