Payment for Environmental Services in the family economy of inhabitants of the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Abstract

The Payments for Environmental Services (PSA) program, administered by the National Fund for Forestry Financing (Fonafifo/MINAE), is an important governmental instrument in public policy implementation processes because it generates results and impacts that are recognized nationally and internationally; however, little is known about the role of PSA locally. Knowing that the Osa Peninsula is home to about 2.5% of the recorded biodiversity of the planet, this article seeks to establish a relationship between a financial instrument for conservation, and the economic and social reality of program participants. This article gathers information from environmental service providers of the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve, including age and socioeconomic aspects. Through interviews with 57 people with a PES contract with Fonafifo between the period 2012 to 2018, we reflect on the contribution that this conservation instrument has provided to the protection of farms located in a site that is legally delimited as a Wild Protected Area, and whose possibility to carry out productive activities is very restricted. This study shows that for 60% of those interviewed, the amount of PSA received represents more than 50% of their annual income. This is particularly important considering that the group consulted is made up of 21% of people in extreme poverty. The participation of the Ministry of Human Development and Social Inclusion in the evaluation of the social groups chosen to assign PES is recommended for implementing an assessment strategy of participant’s condition when entering the Fonafifo.