Payment for Environmental Services

Market-based instruments (MBIs) for capturing the financial value of ecosystem services can be an important tool for improving livelihoods and attracting capital to poor communities in developing countries. Such instruments provide a mechanism for communities in the global South to market and sell a new ‘commodity’, that is, environmental services that create valuable benefits for people and businesses elsewhere. UNDP –DDC is working closely with ICRAF, UNEP and NGOs and Sub-regional Organizations to promote payment for environmental services in the arid and semi – arid regions of the world.

Actions being supported:

  • Low-cost methods for establishing project baselines, identification and valuation of environmental externalities
  • Pilot projects in Baringo District in Kenya focusing on carbon sequestration 
  • Pilot project in Fouta Djallon in Guinea focusing on watershed functions
  • Monitoring and assessment methodologies

We are currently looking to undertake studies in the following two areas.

Land Management Topics

Decentralized Governance of Natural Resources

Land Rights Reform and Governance