Posted on May, 08 2015

WWF’s Carbon and Biodiversity (CarBi) project is tackling the drivers of forest loss in the Central Annamite Mountains located within both Laos and Vietnam. 

To ensure that its impacts continue long past the end of the project, CarBi has established several frameworks for PFES schemes. In Vietnam the government-managed Forest Protection and Development Fund (VNFF) receives funds from hydro-electric companies, which is then distributed to local communities to protect and manage vital forest ecosystem services. In Laos, CarBi has developed the first functional Community Biodiversity Conservation Agreements, incentivising sustainable land use by beneficiary communities. 

CarBi will also explore the feasibility of establishing the first market-driven PFES scheme in its Laos target areas and will work with relevant government agencies and local communities to develop the regulatory frameworks and skills required, which may also inform the expansion of such schemes throughout the country. 

These PFES schemes incentivise local communities’ participation in the protection and restoration of biodiversity and concomitant forest ecosystem services in Protected Areas as well as priority biodiversity corridor areas, and also diversify and enhance employment and livelihood opportunities. They also

establish a framework balancing socio-economic development with the maintenance and restoration of ecosystem services’ integrity, without compromising the options available to future generations. 

Government policy makers and those designing conservation projects, particularly in the Greater Mekong Region, should consider CarBi’s PFES models to sustainably fund their own conservation and livelihood initiatives.

Please download the full case study on the right hand side to learn much more.