Governance of Ecosystem Services: Lessons learned from Cameroon, China, Costa Rica, and Ecuador

This case study looks at the governance of ecosystem services in four countries: Cameroon, China, Costa Rica, and Ecuador. It describes the existing legal and institutional frameworks, including the specific legal and policy instruments used to directly or indirectly govern the provision of ecosystem services. 

In conducting these country assessments, the first step was to identify each country’s ecosystem services and their general economic values. Second, the frameworks for the governance of ecosystem services were analysed, including each country’s policies, laws, institutions, and instruments that impact ecosystem services. As a last step, the country authors drew specific conclusions and made recommendations based on their analyses. Finally, this paper compares the findings of the four country case studies and summarises lessons learned regarding the possible enhancement of governance of ecosystem services and provides some sequential steps that can be taken to enhance governance of ecosystem services.