Case Studies

Why environmental impact assessments often fail

Background

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) aim to mitigate the environmental costs of development, particularly in biodiversity-rich developing nations. While governments and corporations claim EIAs as safeguards against environmental harm from roads, dams, mines, and housing, many are ineffective or even worthless. Weak assessments fail to prevent projects that destroy habitats and endanger species. Key shortcomings include insufficient funding, narrow focus on immediate project areas, conflicts of interest among consultants, and poor governance that grants developers undue influence over policy decisions.

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Climate Risk Management

BACKGROUND:

Worldwide efforts are underway to devise and apply strategies to manage these risks effectively. Key challenges in climate risk management include the integration of necessary scientific disciplines, articulating stakeholder values and objectives, and quantifying pivotal uncertainties and trade-offs, all of which are vital for crafting effective management strategies. The paper addresses the intensification of global climate risks driven by accelerating climate change. The authors review these challenges based on existing literature to identify potential avenues to overcome them. 

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Reforesting Bare Hills in Vietnam: Social and Environmental Consequences of the 5 Million Hectare Reforestation Program

Background

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The global status and trends of Payments for Ecosystem Services

Background

Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) have expanded significantly in recent decades. These schemes aim to internalize the positive externalities that natural systems generate. PES creates incentives for landholders to adopt behaviors that sustain ecosystem service provision and, in some cases, generates additional revenue streams for conservation. However, it captures only a small fraction of the total value that natural systems provide. Researchers face challenges in collecting comprehensive and reliable data on PES due to its relatively recent emergence and the diversity of practices across different geographic scales.

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The Effectiveness of Payments for Environmental Services

Background

The academic debate on how effectively Payments for Environmental Services (PES) achieve environmental and socioeconomic goals continues to grow. Researchers initially focused on defining the concept and documenting early field experiences. Over time, they shifted their attention to designing effective incentives, analyzing behavioral responses, conducting systematic reviews, and applying counterfactual-based impact evaluations to assess outcomes more rigorously.

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Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) in Latin America: Analysing the performance of 40 case studies

Background

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Integrating local knowledge into public policy instruments for enhancing restoration: A study case from western Mexican tropical dry forest

Background

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Human Persecution is An Important Threat to the Conservation of the Endangered Black-and-Chestnut Eagle in Northern Andes

Background

Human-wildlife conflicts are widespread and put threatened species at an even higher risk of extinction. Human persecution of threatened wild animals with the aim to protect domesticated animals contributes to the decline of threatened wild animals. The black-and-chestnut eagle is under threat in the northern Andes of Ecuador and Colombia due to efforts to protect domestic poultry.

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Fairly efficient, efficiently fair: Lessons from designing and testing payment schemes for ecosystem services in Asia

Background

Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) is defined as a market-based approach yet the authors argue that it cannot be generalized or implements and often suffers due to the commoditization of these services.

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Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) in Latin America: Analysing the performance of 40 case studies

Background

Payment of Ecosystem Services (PES), which encourages landowners improve land management through market incentives, has been implemented around the world since the 1990s. This high investment requires an analysis of PES schemes and their outcomes.

Goals & Methods

The goal of the paper is to inform policy and provide decisions makers with insights on PES in order to aid in future design and ensure the success of initiatives. To do this, the authors review 40 cases of PES throughout Latin America based on a consistent set of criteria.

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