How do stakeholders working on the forest-water nexus perceive payments for ecosystem services?

Báliková, Klára (author), Červená, Tereza (author), De Meo, Isabella (author), De Vreese, Rik (author), Deniz, Tuğba (author), El Mokaddem, Abdelmohssin (author), Kayacan, Bekir (author), Larabi, Fadila (author), Lībiete, Zane (author), Lyubenova, Mariyana (author), Pezdevšek Malovrh, Špela (author), Potočki, Kristina (author), Pelyukh, Oksana (author), Rugani, Benedetto (author), Sarvasova, Zuzana (author), Šálka, Jaroslav (author), Stevanov, Mirjana (author), Stojnić, Srđan (author), Jarský, Vilém (author), Vuletić, Dijana (author), Zahvoyska, Lyudmyla (author), Paletto, Alessandro (author)

Nowadays, great emphasis is placed on the relationship between forest and water because forests are considered as substantial sources of many water ecosystem services. The aim of this paper is to analyze the stakeholder opinions towards the relationship between forests and water and the potential development of water-related payments for ecosystem services (PES) schemes. The study is developed in the context of COST Action CA15206–PESFOR-W (Forests for Water) aimed at synthesizing current knowledge about the PES schemes across Europe. The stakeholder opinions were mapped out using a structured questionnaire consisting of 20 questions divided into four thematic sections. The data were collected through an online survey. The results showed opinions of 142 stakeholders from 23 countries, mainly from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. In order to analyze the collected data, the stakeholders were grouped in buyers, sellers, intermediaries, and knowledge providers. The survey results indicated that the most important category of water ecosystem services according to our sample of stakeholders is regulating services followed by provisioning services. Further findings pointed out the highest importance that shared values and direct changes in land management can have when designing water-related PES schemes. The role of public authorities and collective collaboration of different stakeholders, with emphasis on local and expert knowledge, are also identified as of crucial importance. The results show that stakeholder opinions can serve as a starting point when designing PES schemes.

• Language: English
• Keywords: forest management, payments for water ecosystem services, stakeholder opinions, questionnaire survey, COST Action, ecosystem services
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2020
• Number of pages: 19 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 11, iss. 1, art. 12
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-114223
• UDC: 630*9:630*6
• ISSN on article: 1999-4907
• DOI: 10.3390/f11010012
• COBISS.SI-ID: 5602214
• Publication date in RUL: 19.02.2020

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Forests
• Shortened title: Forests
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 1999-4907
• COBISS.SI-ID: 3872166

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 01.01.2020

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: ekosistemske storitve, upravljanje z gozdovi, plačilo za ekosistemske storitve, vodne ekosistemske storitve, anketa, deležniki