{"id":30917,"date":"2025-10-24T13:48:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T16:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fund.ar\/publicacion\/payments-for-ecosystem-services-towards-a-reliable-and-attractive-scheme-for-private-capital\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T11:45:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T14:45:11","slug":"payments-for-ecosystem-services-towards-a-reliable-and-attractive-scheme-for-private-capital","status":"publish","type":"publicacion","link":"https:\/\/fund.ar\/en\/publicacion\/payments-for-ecosystem-services-towards-a-reliable-and-attractive-scheme-for-private-capital\/","title":{"rendered":"Payments for Ecosystem Services. Towards a reliable and attractive scheme for private capital"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Argentina’s productive structure depends heavily on the services provided by nature. Native forests regulate water, fertilise the soil and stabilise the climate. In contexts such as this, investing in natural capital is not only an environmental urgency but also an economic and social priority. Since 2007, the country has had a law regulating a national payment scheme for ecosystem services. Strengthening and modernising this instrument would make it possible to channel private investment into forest conservation, transforming an existing public mechanism into a lever for sustainable financing.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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What are Payments for Ecosystem Services and what do they solve?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes are emerging as a strategic tool. They involve paying communities or individuals for carrying out conservation, sustainable management or ecosystem restoration activities. They connect ecosystem service providers with those who benefit from them. If well designed, these programmes can attract private funding by leveraging existing institutional structures and acting as seed capital for nature-based projects.<\/p>\n

In a global context of growing interest in nature-based investments\u2014driven by the need to manage environmental risks and meet climate and sustainability commitments\u2014ESPs offer an opportunity to channel resources towards actions that generate measurable environmental and social benefits. At the same time, they promote conservation, contribute to the diversification of rural incomes and strengthen territorial roots.<\/p>\n

In this way, PES schemes act as a bridge between public conservation policies and local sustainable development strategies. They combine economic incentives with long-term objectives aimed at resilience and collective well-being.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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On the path of the Law<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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In Argentina, Law No. 26331 on Native Forests<\/a> created the National Fund for the Enrichment and Conservation of Native Forests (FNECBN). This law establishes a scheme for allocating resources and compensation to landowners with forests. In practice, this mechanism has functioned as a national PES scheme. However, the fund has faced historical financing constraints. In addition, it has regulatory gaps that limit its ability to attract private investment.<\/b><\/p>\n

Despite its relative effectiveness, like other similar programmes in the region, the scheme faces structural financing problems due to its high dependence on public resources<\/b>. Since the enactment of the Forestry Act in 2007, the budget actually allocated has been systematically lower than that established by the law<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Between 2013 and 2016, for example, the FNECBN’s share of the national budget fell from 0.04% in 2013 (equivalent to 12.26% of the amount stipulated by law) to 0.02% in 2016 (equivalent to 5.26%). In real terms, the amounts allocated to the FNECBN fell by 72% between 2010 and 2023. For 2025, the National Budget Bill allocated only 2.5% of the amount stipulated by law, equivalent to 9 billion pesos, which represents only 0.0077% of the national budget. In Argentina, Law No. 26331 on Native Forests created the National Fund for the Enrichment and Conservation of Native Forests (FNECBN). This law establishes a scheme for allocating resources and compensation to landowners with forests. In practice, this mechanism has functioned as a national PES scheme. However, the fund has faced historical financing constraints. In addition, it has regulatory gaps that limit its ability to attract private investment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite its relative effectiveness, like other similar programmes in the region, the scheme faces structural financing problems due to its high dependence on public resources<\/b>. Since the enactment of the Forestry Act in 2007, the budget actually allocated has been systematically lower than that established by the law<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Between 2013 and 2016, for example, the FNECBN’s share of the national budget fell from 0.04% in 2013 (equivalent to 12.26% of the amount stipulated by law) to 0.02% in 2016 (equivalent to 5.26%). In real terms, the amounts allocated to the FNECBN fell by 72% between 2010 and 2023. For 2025, the National Budget Bill allocated only 2.5% of the amount stipulated by law, equivalent to 9 billion pesos, which represents only 0.0077% of the national budget.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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