This report reviews the current status of payments for watershed services (PWS) in developing countries. It highlights the main trends in the evolution of these schemes, by identifying and analyzing case profiles, constraints and information gaps in Section 2, followed by a brief overview of general trends and setbacks at the international, national and local levels. Section 4 outlines the key characteristics of PWS, namely related to supply and demand and payment mechanisms. And, Sections 5 and 6 synthesize the available evidence on the environmental and social impacts of PWS, and draw lessons for the design of future initiatives.
Free online case study resources can be downloaded from the website that accompanies this study at: www.watershedmarkets.org
This report released by the United Nations shows how the major emitting countries can cut their carbon emissions by mid-century in order to prevent dangerous climate change. The report, produced cooperatively by leading research institutes in 15 countries, is the first global cooperative program to identify practical pathways to a low-carbon economy by 2050. The Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP) interim report was presented in a briefing to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and after to the French government, as host of the 2015 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) climate conference. The interim report supports the UN Climate Summit on September 23, 2014. The full DDPP report will be presented in the spring of 2015.
This report discusses the opportunities presented by the Brazilian Amapá State government’s intention to make the transition to a green economy. It explores initial progress in green policy and activity, and associated dynamics in the political economy, and lays out a broad but feasible set of sectoral and cross-sectoral policy options. The paper also offers an initial assessment of a pioneer, inclusive scheme of payments to small producers for forest-based environmental services: pro-extrativismo programme. It draws on lessons from Amazonas state that can help to inform Amapá’s green economy strategy and concludes with recommendations for further technical collaboration, and for priorities in sectoral policy and cross-sectoral enabling conditions, with a focus on government leadership.
This report investigates how cities can use different instruments to integrate the environment into urban planning and management approaches. Including: policy instruments, process instruments, planning instruments and management instruments. The report examines how these instruments are applied to several well established approaches to integrated urban planning. It examines the characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of Integrated Development Plans, City Development Strategies, ecoCity Planning, ecoBUDGET and Strategic Environmental Assessment.
The report also includes 12 case studies of cities that have worked to integrate the environment into their planning processes including: Egypt (Alexandria), Thailand (Bangkok), Republic of Cuba (Bayamo), the Philippines (Bohol), Bulgaria (Bourgas), Canada (Calgary), South Africa (Cape Town), Brazil (Goiânia; Porto Alegre), Columbia (Manizales), Kenya (Nakuru), and the People’s Republic of China (Yangzhou).
The ongoing review of the UK’s Fourth Carbon Budget is closely linked to the debate over the impact that domestic climate change policies can have on the competitiveness of businesses. Notably, there are concerns that, if the UK implements more ambitious climate policies than its trading partners, carbon-intensive producers might relocate. This could mean that some affected sectors may have to reduce their production of goods and services below the optimum level that would be achieved if there were uniform international climate policies. In addition, the impact of climate change policies on emissions reductions could be limited if big emitters simply relocate, especially if they move to jurisdictions that have lower environmental standards.