摘要：Payment for ecosystem services (PES) is a market-based approach to environmentalmanagement that compensates land stewards for ecosystem conservation and restoration. Because low-income households and communities control much of the ecologically sensitive land in developingcountries, they potentially stand to gain from PES, as environmentally responsible stewardship is assigneda value by various actors in society. To date, however, instances of PES benefiting the poor have beenlimited mainly to specific localities, small-scale projects, and a handful of broader government programs.We analyze the size, characteristics, and trends of PES to evaluate its future potential to benefit low-incomeland stewards in developing countries. We estimate that by the year 2030, markets for biodiversityconservation could benefit 10–15 million low-income households in developing countries, carbon marketscould benefit 25–50 million, markets for watershed protection could benefit 80–100 million, and marketsfor landscape beauty and recreation could benefit 5–8 million. If payments and markets reach thesepotentials, they could provide a non-negligible contribution to poverty alleviation at the global level
