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Mr. Petipong Pungboon Na Ayudhaya, Chairman of Executive Board of the Biodiversity-based Economy Development Organization (BEDO) speaks at the seminar 'The ‘Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES)' event. The seminar focuses on the intrinsic value of ecosystems and how this could be taken fully into account when making development decisions, co-hosted by BEDO and UNDP Thailand. |
Payments for Ecosystem Services in Thailand: why and how?
15 December 2009 - The intrinsic value of ecosystems and how this could be taken fully into account when making development decisions was the focus of the latest UNDP seminar in Bangkok.
The ‘Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES)’ event, co-hosted by the Biodiversity-based Economy Development Organization (BEDO), looked into the potential and the constraints of applying a PES system in Thailand.
Broadly defined, PES is a way to reward ecosystem guardians for adopting sustainable management practices that have lasting environmental benefits. For example, it could mean that the mechanism should take into account the payment from the “HAVE” who enjoy consuming ecosystem services without cost, to start contributing for the service providers upstream who are the “Have Not”.
“We have to find the way to draw people’s attention to the ecosystems around them, to make them feel that it is a matter of their everyday existence. This is fundamental. People need to be aware, after that comes commitment and contribution,” said Petipong Pungboon Na Ayudhaya, Chairman of the BEDO’s Executive Board, in his keynote speech.
“I don’t want to see the word ‘payments’ to be used in a negative way - as it can connote that one is paid or hired to do something. But it should be that we want to contribute because we recognize its values and benefits to our well-being.”
“UNDP believes that payments for ecosystem services can be an efficient mechanism to provide support to environmental guardians in local communities. Therefore, it’s important to have days like today, with a forum to promote awareness and stimulate discussion about the PES concept and to find appropriate ways and means to apply it. This is not only to benefit the environment, but also to improve peoples’ livelihoods,” stressed Yuxue Xue, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Thailand.
UNDP is working with the Thai government to pilot PES ideas on three projects, with support from Global Environment Facility.
One supports the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation on sustainable management of protected areas; the second, in cooperation with with BEDO, supports the development of sustainable harvesting and supply chains for biodiversity-based products; and the third promotes integrated catchment management systems, in collaboration with Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s regional environmental offices.
Over 150 participants from government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and international development organizations, participated in the seminar. A follow-up meeting is scheduled to be organized in mid-2010.
Presentations from the seminar by:
Dr. James Peters , Asia Regional Biodiversity Conservation Program, Winrock International, Vietnam : Download
Ms.Beria Leimona, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Indonesia : Download
Assoc. Prof. Oraphan Na Bangchang, Ph D Sukhothai Thammathirat University : Download
Mr. Timothy James Butler BOYLE, UNDP Policy Advisor on Environment and Natural Resources : Download
Assist. Prof. Penporn Janekarnkit, Ph. D., Faculty of Economics, Kasetsart University : Download1 / Download2 / Download video clip
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For further information, please contact:
Mark S. Cogan, Communications Officer, UNDP Thailand, office: 02 288 1887, cell: 087 972 7435
