BIO-CULTURAL COMMUNITY PROTOCOLS IN THE
CONTEXT OF PAYMENT FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
PART II / CHAPTER 6
Similar to the ABS context, an informed and empowered
in detrimental agriculture agreed to refrain from such
community is in a much better negotiating position than one
activities if they were given official land tenure and granted
that is uninformed about its rights and opportunities. It is also
access to associated government services.
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likely that a PES scheme built on a strong foundation such as
the one created through the BCP process would be sustainable
Such non-monetary benefits are an example of the vast
in the medium- or long-term, thus preventing high costs of
array of options available for the type of payments under
renegotiating previous deals.
PES schemes. Non-monetary benefits may be particularly
useful in local contexts in which certain service provisions
5.4 Affirming Access and Land Rights
or the clarification of land tenure may be more important
than monetary income. While many factors will influence
Many countries in the developing world are characterized
the size and nature of payment possible, the visioning
by legal plurality in determining who has access to or
component of BCPs can help in establishing what type of
ownership over land and associated natural resources.
payment would be most desired by ILCs.
These rights are granted under different legal systems that
are often a fusion of international, national and
customary law. They may be as diverse as the UN Declaration
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on the Rights of Indigenous People , formal land titles, rights
5.6 Addressing Possible Secondary
Effects through a Bio-cultural Analysis
of Existing Use of Biological Resources
through use, ancestral rights, or membership in community31
owned or occupied land.
When entering into PES schemes, ILCs have to be aware of
possible secondary effects such as the socio-economic
One of the key contributions of a BCP in the context of PES
impact of restricted future land use. While there is always a
schemes is the affirmation of ILCs’ existing rights to land or
risk of unanticipated consequences emerging from the
land use by listing all relevant national and international
implementation of such schemes, the use of BCPs can
legal frameworks. When ILCs are in danger of being
reduce some of the associated risks.
marginalized by a PES scheme, BCPs can help them clarify
and assert their existing rights. Highlighting these rights
Part of the BCP process is a discussion about the nature of
legally empowers communities to enter into such schemes
the current resource use of all members of the community;
with confidence and understanding of their values and
within a PES context, it will also include discussion about
priorities. Given the centrality of clear land rights to the
how the conditions attached to a PES scheme will affect
establishment of effective PES schemes, BCPs could provide
such resource use. The designers of the PES scheme can then
further clarity about the legal status of ILCs and their use
use the BCP to ensure that community members will not be
of land and natural resources.
adversely affected by the scheme and, in cases in which
local land use practices have to be changed or stopped,
5.5 Determining Types of Payment
to ensure that any negative consequences are mitigated
wherever possible. On top of that, highlighting the
In cases in which ILCs do not have clear access or rights to
communities’ bio-cultural values in this regard will further
land, official land tenure could be granted in exchange for
prevent cultural conflict emerging from certain land
their agreement to engage in sustainable land use practices.
usage change.
Kerr et al. describe an example in Indonesia in which
informal forest occupants that had previously engaged
30. Article 26 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People:
- Indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired.
Indigenous peoples have the right to own, use, develop and control the lands, territories and resources that they possess by reason of traditional ownership or other
traditional occupation or use, as well as those which they have otherwise acquired.
- States shall give legal recognition and protection to these lands, territories and resources. Such recognition shall be conducted with due respect to the customs, traditions
and land tenure systems of the indigenous peoples concerned.”
31. Supra note 7.
32. TRIP Report: Property Rights, Environmental Services and Poverty in Indonesia, by John Kerr et al., 2004: . Footnote 5 (UNEP 2008) also mentions land and access rights
as a possible form of payment as part of a PES scheme.
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