Developing an equitable rewards scheme for water storage and livelihood improvement in the Manupali watershed, southern Philippines

Abstract

Rewards for ecosystem services (RES)a is an increasingly used alternative approach to environmental management. In this approach, ecosystem service (ES)b users pay for or provide appropriate rewards to land managers for adopting land-use practices that conserve or improve the level of ES1 . The approach’s impacts are often evaluated based on their ecological effectiveness, economic efficiency, and social equity2,3. While the meaning of equity as used in this approach still lacks clarity, there is no doubt that it is central to achieve just and sustainable outcomes on environmental management. In RES literature, equity depends on the context and the local stakeholders’ perceptions where a scheme is applied. It considers justice in terms of upholding human rights, which is relative to social relations between people and institutions4. This links to recognition5 and legitimacy3, which both refer to stakeholders’ perceptions, whether a scheme respects their formal and informal rules, as well as norms. It also means fair and pro-poor, which refers to the distribution of cost and benefits, the process of inclusion and interaction, authority and control2. Needless to say, considering these facets of social equity are particularly important in the context of developing countries, where issues on skewed wealth distribution, contested property rights, poor law implementation, power imbalances, and weak institutions are prevalent, and can greatly affect RES design and implementation