Earth LinC · PES Station · Making Observations Count
Turning the value of nature into instruments of conservation — through science, evidence, and accountability at planetary scale.
Introduction · Introduction · 简介
Qu'est-ce que le PSE? · 什么是生态系统服务付费？
🇬🇧 English
Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) is a market-based conservation mechanism in which the beneficiaries of ecological services — clean water, carbon storage, biodiversity, flood regulation — compensate the stewards of the landscapes that produce them. By making nature's value legible in economic terms, PES bridges the gap between environmental science and land-use decisions, creating direct, conditional, and voluntary transactions that keep ecosystems functioning.
🇫🇷 Français
Le Paiement pour Services Écosystémiques (PSE) est un mécanisme de conservation basé sur le marché. Les bénéficiaires des services écologiques — eau potable, stockage du carbone, biodiversité, régulation des crues — rémunèrent les gardiens des paysages qui les produisent. En rendant la valeur de la nature lisible en termes économiques, le PSE comble le fossé entre la science environnementale et les décisions d'utilisation des terres.
🇨🇳 中文
生态系统服务付费（PES）是一种基于市场的保护机制，生态服务的受益方——清洁水源、碳储存、生物多样性、洪水调节——向产生这些服务的土地守护者支付报酬。通过将自然的价值以经济语言呈现，PES弥合了环境科学与土地利用决策之间的鸿沟，建立起直接、有条件、自愿的交易体系，使生态系统得以持续运转。
"Nature's services are not free. The question is only whether we pay for them before they disappear — or after."
— Gretchen Daily, Stanford University, Natural Capital Project
Analytical Framework · Cadre analytique · 分析框架
Core pillars that define a well-functioning PES scheme · Les piliers fondamentaux d'un PSE bien conçu · 运行良好的PES方案的核心支柱
Clearly identify the ecosystem service — water purification, carbon sequestration, biodiversity habitat, scenic value — and quantify its biophysical baseline using remote sensing and field data.
Identify landholders, communities, or indigenous peoples whose stewardship generates the service. Tenure clarity and rights recognition are foundational prerequisites.
Map downstream water users, carbon offset purchasers, government agencies, or private companies whose operations depend on continued provision of the service.
Payments are contingent on verified service delivery — a core distinction from subsidies. Monitoring protocols use satellite imagery, sensor networks, and community verification.
Conservation must be additional to what would have occurred without payment. Counterfactual baselines are established through satellite time-series, spatial econometrics, and matching methods.
Earth observation (Landsat, Sentinel, MODIS), LiDAR, acoustic sensors, and community-based monitoring combine to produce credible, accountable MRV (Measurement, Reporting, Verification) systems.
| PES Type / Type de PSE / 类型 | Service / Service / 服务 | Typical Buyer / Acheteur / 买方 | Typical Seller / Fournisseur / 卖方 | Scale / Échelle / 规模 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon / Carbone / 碳 | Sequestration, avoided deforestation | Corporations, governments, voluntary markets | Forest communities, landowners | Global / REDD+ |
| Watershed / Bassin versant / 流域 | Water quality & regulation | Water utilities, municipalities | Upstream farmers, communities | Local–National |
| Biodiversity / Biodiversité / 生物多样性 | Habitat, species protection | Governments, NGOs, biodiversity offsets | Private landowners, IPs | National–Regional |
| Landscape Beauty / Paysage / 景观 | Recreation, scenic amenity | Tourism operators, municipalities | Farmers, land managers | Local |
| Coastal / Côtier / 海岸 | Storm buffering, blue carbon | Insurance, coastal municipalities | Mangrove/seagrass stewards | Local–Regional |
Key Researchers · Chercheurs clés · 关键研究者
The thinkers and teams shaping PES theory and practice · Les penseurs façonnant la théorie et la pratique des PSE · 塑造PES理论与实践的思想者与团队
Gretchen Daily
Stanford University · Natural Capital Project · USA
Pioneered the concept of natural capital and co-founded the Natural Capital Project. Daily's work gave rise to InVEST — an open-source toolset that spatially maps ecosystem services and has informed PES design in over 70 countries. Her landmark paper "Ecosystem Services: Benefits Supplied to Human Societies by Natural Ecosystems" (1997) remains foundational. 法语：A fondé le concept de capital naturel et co-créé le Natural Capital Project, dont l'outil InVEST est utilisé dans plus de 70 pays. 中文：开创自然资本概念，联合创立自然资本项目，其InVEST工具已在70余国用于生态系统服务的空间映射与PES设计。
Sven Wunder
European Forest Institute · Denmark/Global
Authored the canonical definition of PES and conducted the most comprehensive global comparative studies of PES schemes. His 2015 "Revisiting the concept of payments for environmental services" in Ecological Economics clarified conditionality requirements and remains the most-cited PES definition. 法语：Auteur de la définition canonique du PSE, ses analyses comparatives mondiales demeurent la référence de la discipline. 中文：撰写了PES的权威定义，其全球比较研究是该领域引用最多的文献之一。
Stefano Pagiola
World Bank · Globally active
Designed and evaluated PES programs across Latin America, Africa, and Asia for the World Bank. His empirical research on Costa Rica's PSA program and on payment levels versus opportunity costs is widely implemented in program design globally. 中文：为世界银行在拉美、非洲和亚洲设计并评估PES项目，尤其对哥斯达黎加PSA项目的机会成本研究影响深远。
Bui Thi Thu Hien & CIFOR Team
CIFOR · Vietnam / Southeast Asia
Led CIFOR research on Vietnam's national PFES (Payment for Forest Ecosystem Services) program — the largest government-mandated PES program in Southeast Asia. Research examines equity, forest cover change, and institutional design. 中文：领导CIFOR对越南国家森林生态系统服务付费（PFES）项目的研究，该项目是东南亚规模最大的政府强制性PES计划。
Xiaodong Chen (陈晓东)
Michigan State University / China
Leading researcher on China's Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP/Grain for Green 退耕还林) — the world's largest PES-style program by area and expenditure — examining forest cover, farmer welfare, and behavioral compliance. 中文：退耕还林工程（全球规模最大的类PES项目）的主要研究者之一，专注于森林覆盖变化、农民福祉与合规行为。
Patricia Balvanera
UNAM · Mexico · IPBES
Leads research on ecosystem services valuation in Mexican tropical forests and contributes to IPBES assessments. Her work on indigenous and local knowledge in PES design is central to equity and cultural legitimacy. 法语：Ses travaux sur les savoirs autochtones dans la conception des PSE sont centraux pour l'équité et la légitimité culturelle. 中文：领导墨西哥热带森林生态系统服务评估，并将原住民传统知识纳入PES设计，推动公平性与文化合法性。
Unai Pascual
Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) · IPBES Chair
Spearheads the "plural values of nature" framework in IPBES, which explicitly integrates relational and intrinsic values alongside instrumental values, reshaping how PES justifications are built and contested. 中文：主导IPBES自然多元价值观框架，将关系价值与内在价值纳入PES依据的构建，对PES正当性讨论产生深远影响。
Deployed Cases · Cas déployés · 落地案例
From field trials to national policy — programs with real transactions · Des essais de terrain aux politiques nationales · 从试点到全国推广的真实交易项目
🌎 National · Since 1997
The world's first national government-funded PES system. FONAFIFO (National Forestry Financing Fund) pays landowners for forest conservation, reforestation, and agroforestry. Over 1 million hectares enrolled; forest cover recovered from 21% (1987) to over 52% (2020). Annual payments ~$70–200/ha.
世界上第一个由政府出资的全国性PES体系。通过FONAFIFO向土地所有者支付森林保护、造林和农林业费用。逾100万公顷注册，森林覆盖率从1987年的21%恢复至2020年的52%以上。
Premier système national de PSE financé par un gouvernement au monde. Plus d'un million d'hectares inscrits.
fonafifo.go.cr →🌏 China · Since 1999
The world's largest PES-type program. Over 28 million hectares of sloped cropland converted to forest and grassland. Annual compensation: grain equivalents + cash to farming households. Studies show significant reductions in soil erosion and carbon gains, though additionality debates persist.
全球最大规模的类PES项目。超过2800万公顷坡耕地转为林地与草地，向农户发放粮食补偿与现金。研究显示水土流失显著减少，碳汇增加，但额外性争议持续存在。
Le plus grand programme de type PSE au monde. Plus de 28 millions d'hectares convertis.
forestry.gov.cn →🌏 Vietnam · Since 2010
Decree 99/2010 mandated national PFES. Hydropower plants and water supply companies pay upstream forest managers. By 2020, over 7.6 million ha of forests covered; ~$220 million collected and distributed. CIFOR studies show mixed equity outcomes across ethnic minority communities.
越南第99/2010号法令规定全国实施PFES。水电站和供水公司向上游森林管理者付费。截至2020年，覆盖逾760万公顷森林，累计征收并分配约2.2亿美元。CIFOR研究显示少数民族社区受益不均。
Décret national 99/2010 : les centrales hydroélectriques paient les gestionnaires forestiers en amont.
CIFOR Vietnam Study →🇺🇸 USA · Since 1997
NYC paid upstream Catskill-Delaware watershed farmers and communities ~$1.5 billion over 10 years for land stewardship practices that maintain water quality — avoiding an $8–10 billion filtration plant. One of the most-cited urban watershed PES cases globally.
纽约市向上游卡茨基尔—特拉华流域的农民和社区支付约15亿美元，用于维护水质的土地管护实践，从而避免建造价值80–100亿美元的过滤厂。全球最常引用的城市流域PES案例之一。
NYC a payé ~1,5 Md$ aux agriculteurs en amont pour maintenir la qualité de l'eau, évitant une usine de filtration à 8–10 Md$.
NYC DEP Watershed →🌎 Colombia · Since 2017
The "Familias Guardabosques" and successor "Bosques de Paz" programs pay communities in conflict-affected zones to protect forests as an alternative to coca cultivation. Satellite monitoring (IDEAM) tracks deforestation alerts. ~100,000 families enrolled at peak.
哥伦比亚"森林守护者家庭"及后续"和平森林"计划向冲突地区社区付费保护森林，作为替代古柯种植的选择。卫星监测追踪毁林预警，高峰期约10万户家庭参与。
Des familles dans les zones de conflit sont rémunérées pour protéger les forêts, comme alternative à la culture de coca.
IDEAM Colombia →🌏 Indonesia · Active
Indonesia holds the world's largest mangrove forests. REDD+ pilots in Kalimantan and Sumatra use satellite-derived carbon accounting (Sentinel, ALOS-PALSAR) to generate blue carbon credits for international voluntary markets. BRIN and international partners co-lead MRV.
印度尼西亚拥有全球最大的红树林。加里曼丹和苏门答腊的REDD+试点利用卫星碳核算（Sentinel、ALOS-PALSAR）生成蓝碳信用额度，供国际自愿市场交易，由BRIN与国际合作伙伴共同主导MRV。
Les pilotes REDD+ en Kalimantan et Sumatra utilisent la télédétection pour générer des crédits carbone bleu.
FCPF Indonesia →🌍 Kenya · Since 2015
The Nature Conservancy and local partners established Africa's first operational water fund. Downstream water users (Nairobi Water Co., breweries, hydropower) pay upstream smallholders for soil-conserving agricultural practices. InVEST modelling underpins payment design; over 15,000 farmers enrolled.
大自然保护协会与当地伙伴建立了非洲首个运行中的水基金。下游水用户向上游小农支付水土保持农业实践费用。InVEST模型支撑付费设计，超过1.5万农户参与。
Premier fonds d'eau opérationnel en Afrique — les utilisateurs d'eau en aval paient les petits agriculteurs en amont.
Water Funds Toolbox →🇪🇺 European Union · Ongoing
Multiple LIFE-funded projects implement PES pilots across EU member states — including agri-environment-climate schemes (AECS) under CAP and forest carbon projects in the Baltic states, Germany, and France. The EU Nature Restoration Law (2024) further embeds PES logic into member-state planning obligations.
多个LIFE资助项目在欧盟成员国实施PES试点，包括共同农业政策下的农业-环境-气候方案，以及波罗的海国家、德国和法国的森林碳项目。2024年《欧盟自然恢复法》进一步将PES逻辑嵌入成员国规划义务。
Des projets LIFE financés mettent en œuvre des PSE dans toute l'UE, renforcés par la Loi sur la restauration de la nature (2024).
EU Ecosystem Services →🌏 China · Since 2005
China's national Ecological Compensation program (生态补偿机制) channels fiscal transfers from developed eastern provinces to ecologically rich western and southern regions. The 2021 National Ecological Compensation Regulations formalized multi-tiered payments covering forests, wetlands, grasslands, and rivers — covering ~720 million mu.
中国国家生态补偿机制将财政转移支付从东部发达省份引导至生态丰富的西部和南部地区。2021年《生态保护补偿条例》将多层次补偿体系正式化，涵盖森林、湿地、草原和河流，覆盖约7.2亿亩。
La Chine canalise les transferts fiscaux vers les régions écologiquement riches, couvrant ~720 millions de mu de terres.
国务院生态保护补偿条例 →Methodology · Méthodologie · 方法论
A sequence grounded in ecological science, economic design, and social legitimacy · 生态科学、经济设计与社会合法性相结合的方法路径
Use satellite data (Landsat, Sentinel-2, MODIS, PALSAR), LiDAR, and hydrological models to map where ecosystem services are generated, at what quantity, and for whom. Tools include InVEST, ARIES, and SEEA-EA spatial accounts.
Cartographie des services par télédétection: Landsat, Sentinel, InVEST, ARIES, SEEA-EA.
利用卫星数据（Landsat、Sentinel-2、MODIS）、LiDAR和水文模型，绘制生态系统服务的产生地点、数量及受益者图谱。工具包括InVEST、ARIES和SEEA-EA空间账户。
Establish what would happen without intervention using satellite time-series analysis, spatial econometrics (difference-in-differences, propensity score matching), and deforestation risk models (e.g., SEPLAN, Collect Earth).
Établir une ligne de base solide via l'économétrie spatiale (DiD, PSM) et des modèles de risque de déforestation.
通过卫星时间序列分析、空间计量经济学（双重差分法、倾向得分匹配）和毁林风险模型（如SEPLAN、Collect Earth）确定基准线与反事实情景。
Value services through market prices (carbon), stated preference (willingness to pay/accept surveys), benefit transfer, or production function approaches. Set payments between opportunity cost (lower bound) and beneficiary willingness to pay (upper bound). Use spatial targeting to prioritize cost-effectiveness.
Valorisation économique: prix du marché carbone, préférences déclarées, coût d'opportunité et consentement à payer.
通过市场价格（碳）、陈述偏好（支付/接受意愿调查）、效益转移或生产函数方法对服务进行经济估值，将补偿额设定在机会成本（下限）与受益方支付意愿（上限）之间。
Establish the legal framework for transactions, fund management, rights documentation, grievance mechanisms, and free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) with indigenous and local communities. Design monitoring institutions with clear responsibilities.
Concevoir le cadre légal, la gestion fiduciaire, les droits fonciers et le CLIP (Consentement Libre, Informé et Préalable).
建立交易法律框架、基金管理、权利文件记录、申诉机制，以及与原住民和当地社区的自由、事先和知情同意（FPIC）机制。
Deploy a credible MRV system combining: (a) satellite monitoring for land cover change; (b) field sampling for biomass/carbon stocks; (c) community-based monitoring for biodiversity and social co-benefits; (d) independent third-party audits. Frequncy: typically annual for payment cycles.
Système de MRV crédible: télédétection + échantillonnage terrain + surveillance communautaire + audits tiers.
部署可信MRV体系，结合：（a）卫星土地覆盖变化监测；（b）生物量/碳储量田野采样；（c）社区生物多样性监测；（d）独立第三方审计。通常每年执行一次。
Rigorously evaluate additionality, leakage, permanence, and equity impacts using quasi-experimental methods. Use findings to adapt payment levels, targeting criteria, and institutional rules. Publish results openly — accountability is a core design requirement, not an afterthought.
Évaluer rigoureusement l'additionnalité, les fuites, la permanence et les impacts sur l'équité. Adapter et publier les résultats.
使用准实验方法严格评估额外性、泄漏、永久性和公平性影响；根据评估结果调整支付水平、靶向标准和制度规则；开放发布评估结果——问责制是核心设计要求。
References · Références · 参考文献
Foundational papers, reports, and tools for deeper learning · Lectures approfondies · 深度学习参考资料