Including farmers in programs of payment for ecosystem services: a comparison between Scotland and Brazil

Abstract

The human demand for goods and services has been increasing rapidly, in many cases exceeding the capacity of the ecosystem to provide them. There is an increasing concern about enhancing ESS provisioning capacity at the global level. In this sense, the compensation - either monetary or non-monetary - for ecosystem services related to carbon storage, water and biodiversity conservation, raises as a promising alternative to encourage an effective combination of environmental protection with agricultural production. Both Brazil and Scotland show challenges related land use and conservation and regardless of the scenario, the ecosystems are responsible to provide ecosystem services essentials for human well-being such as, water and soil quality, stability of the weather conditions etc. The new version of the Brazilian Forest Code predicts payment or incentives for conservation and restoration of ecosystems that provide ecosystems services. However, the text of the new law leaves an enormous gap regarding implementation mechanisms. In Scotland, some forms public policies of incentive for producers, for example Scottish Rural Development Programme, are already established, but many that were implemented without involvement those stakeholders. Therefore, the aim of the Abroad Internship Research is to compare opinions and perceptions about Ecosystem Services and Payment for Ecosystem Services between rural properties of Brazil and Scotland, seeking subsidies from an environmental, social and economic different context to complete the discussions about implementation policy strategies for PES in the local scenario. The research is will be developed in rural areas around of Cairngorms National Park. It is situated northeast (coordinate 57º5 'N 3º40'W) of Scotland in Aberdeenshire, Moray, Highland, Angus and Perth and Kinross regions. The methods employed will be for semi-structured interviews with scottish farmers and direct observation in field, having how protocol adapted the questionnaire that was used for research in Brazil. The results of interviews will compose the qualitative data, as well as, a set of variables for statistical analysis through triangulation methods. These analyzes will provide relevant information on the viability and plans for implementation and operationalization of ecosystem services within rural areas in the state of São Paulo. (AU)