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Long-term impact of PES in Uganda

Despite a strong increase in programmes that use payments for environmental system services (PES), the long-term effects of such programmes have not yet been sufficiently researched. In many cases, the financing of PES is not secured in the long term, so that payments to land users may cease after only a few years. This project investigates the extent to which a PES programme implemented between 2011 and 2013 in western Uganda as a Randomised Control Trial has influenced environmental attitudes and preferences as well as pro-environmental behaviour. The study thus contributes to the ongoing debate on the displacement of intrinsic motivations by external monetary incentives such as PES. In addition, the study examines the effect of the PES programme on the distribution of natural resources and social preferences within participating villages to explore potential negative impacts of PES. The project is being carried out in collaboration with Joost de Laat from Utrecht University and Innovations for Poverty Action Uganda.

This project has been successfully completed already.