Payment Where It’s Due
By Michael Jenkins, Sara Scherr, and Mira Inbar - Forest Trends, Forest Trends, Forest Trends View PublicationThe financing and management of natural protected areas has historically been seen as the responsibility of the public sector. However, budgets for government protection and management of forest ecosystem services are declining, as are those from overseas development assistance. At the same time, processes of devolution and decentralization are shifting public responsibility for nature protection, and new sources of financing for local governments to take on biodiversity and ecosystem service protection have not typically been forthcoming. In addition, conservation must be conceived in a landscape or ecosystem strategy that sets out to link protected areas within a broader matrix of land uses that are compatible with, and support, biodiversity conservation outside of protected areas. To achieve such outcomes, it will be essential to engage private actors in conservation finance on a large scale.