J. For. Sci., 2012, 58(3):131-136 | DOI: 10.17221/71/2011-JFS
Legal framework for payments for forest ecosystem services in the Czech Republic
- 1 Department of Forestry Economics and Management, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
- 2 Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic
Although examples of payments for ecosystem services (PES) can be traced back at least as far as the 1980's, it is still a relatively new instrument, and the hitherto experience in many parts of the world is not extensive yet, or based on a very long timeframe. In addition, PES is being introduced in more and more sectors (agriculture, water supply, carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, etc.) and in relation to more and more ecosystems (surface water, groundwater, forest, etc.). But such PES can work only with good governance in place, comprising an effective political, legislative as well as institutional system. Nevertheless, an effective introduction of PES system into national legislation calls for an appropriate analysis of the current legal system so that duplications can be excluded and only valuable measures can be added. The main goal of this paper is to analyze if the current legal framework of the Czech Republic provides an appropriate basis for establishing payments for a forest ecosystem services scheme.
Keywords: forest ecosystem services; legal framework; legislation; payment for ecosystem services
Published: March 31, 2012 Show citation
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