Payments for Ecosystem Services, Gender and Governance

The past few decades have witnessed various paradigm shifts in conservation policy and practice. Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES), which create a market for the supply and demand of ecosystem services, are among the most recent approaches to natural resource conservation. PES approaches are increasingly concerned with equity-related institutional processes as well as the distribution of impacts on resource users. However, despite gender inequities being characteristic of many developing countries, few studies compare the impacts from and limitations to men’s and women’s participation in PES schemes. The study proposes to investigate equity, and in particular gender equity, in PES schemes and the effects on household welfare outcomes like food security. Results are expected to provide recommendations for PES design and implementation that can increase women’s and men’s participation in and benefits from schemes, particularly in Kenya.