valley in Colombia US$1.5 million has been invested in forest management in poor community areas. Te aim is to improve stream flows and reduce sedimentation in irrigation canals. Also in Colombia, Coca Cola pays people to maintain natural páramo vegetation in Chingaza National Park upstream from its bottling factory outside Bogota: payments help maintain vegetation, which filters water, and provide income for poor communities (TEEB, 2010).
In Kerala state, India, between 500 and 1 000 families could earn income from maintaining continued supplies of Jeevani, a commercially marketed medicine. Te families will cultivate and harvest the fruit and leaves used to manufacture the drug following principles for more sustainable agriculture. Sales of the drug will also give the community ongoing royalty pay- ments.
In southern and eastern Africa funds have been allocated for the upkeep of landscapes, natural resources and wildlife habitats. As a result ecotourism is developing in Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Such schemes employ an estimated 3 000 people directly. In all more than US$100 000 has also been reinvested in economic development and conservation activities.
Other examples of PES in action In the town of Pimampiro, Ecuador, a user-financed PES scheme has been implemented as a result of negotiations between the town municipality and two dozen farmer families. Te farmers will protect forests in upstream headwater areas, thus securing a clean water supply for the town. Payments to the farmers vary according to the condition of the ecosystem, based on a simple cost per land area model: US$1 per hectare per month for undisturbed páramo or primary forest, US$0.75 per hectare per month for older secondary forest, US$0.50 per hectare per month for new secondary forest. Farmers have signed five-year contracts on an individual basis. Local bank offices make quarterly payments to landowners. To receive payment, each landowner must sign a renewable five-year agreement with the municipality of Pimampiro (FAO 2011).
Uganda In Mitooma-Bushenyi in Uganda, the environmental conser- vation organisation Ecotrust has agreed with local landowners that in exchange for planting native species they will receive payments based on the amount of carbon their trees capture. Contracts state that each hectare planted with native tree spe- cies – African cherry, musizi, funtumia and khaya – seques-
64 VITAL GRAPHICS ON PAYMENT FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
ters 57 tonnes of carbon over 10 years, worth an estimated US$8 per tonne. Ten per cent of credits are set aside to protect against unforeseen events. Tose involved began by trading 52 tonnes of carbon for a total of $416 per hectare. Land can be used for various crops and benefits, as long as the trees stay intact. Aſter 15 years those involved in the PES will be able to harvest the timber from the land. Te carbon credits are delivered to Ecotrust which then deals with Tetra Pak UK, the credit buyers. Pricing structures are determined in compli- ance with the Plan Vivo system, a generally accepted standard for certifying payments for PES programmes. About 60 per cent of costs represent payment to farmers, with administra- tion, community engagement initiatives and recruitment, local technical assistance and monitoring accounting for 30 per cent. Certification costs including registry are 6 per cent of the total and verification costs 4 per cent (Te Katoomba group, 2011).
Nepal Te Kulekhani reservoir, in the Makwanpur district about 50 kilometres southeast of Kathmandu, collects monsoon rainfall from surrounding areas which is then channelled to power two downstream hydropower plants. Te two plants provide 17 per cent of all the hydroelectricity in Nepal. More than 46 000 people live in the Kulekhani catchment area. Deforestation of upland areas in the past and periods of intense rain during the monsoon have caused frequent landslides, leading in turn to dramatic sediment build-up in the reservoir. Tis has severely reduced power production. To tackle the problem the government has promoted water- shed conservation programmes, including projects employ- ing local people to build sediment trap dams. In 2003 the World Agroforestry Centre and Winrock International – a global non-profit organisation – established a PES scheme in collaboration with the government, linking upland communi- ties in the Makwanpur area with downstream developments at the hydropower plants. Under government regulations, the Makwanpur District Development Committee receives 12 per cent of annual royalties paid by the Kulekhani power plants to central government. Te scheme specifies how this money should be allocated, with those living in upstream catchment areas receiving the largest share: in 2006-7 upland communities received US$3 000, in 2007-8 US$5 000, and in 2008-9 about US$10 000. Te PES scheme has not only helped conserve upland areas and given vital additional income to poor communities: it has also raised awareness among local people about the provision and payment of ecosystem serv- ices. While the government has issued directives on imple-