The CoLUPSIA project conducted an assessment of the potential of establishing payments for ecosystem services (PES) for two regencies in Indonesia. The objectives of the present study were to determine the feasibility of PES projects in the Central Moluccas regency, island of Seram, Moluccas, to assess whether there is potential for PES at our study sites and, if so, identify the opportunities, constraints, risks, risk mitigation and needed steps for future actions. The method used followed the CoLUPSIAs PES methodological guidelines (Fripp 2014).
Interviews were conducted with the national park agency, regency forestry agency, a cocoa plantation company and water company, to explore the wider potential for PES projects in Seram. The assessment focused predominantly on the socioeconomic, institutional and governance aspects, and so the findings can be applied to any PES project, beyond carbon sequestration alone, although so far the highest potential was for carbon projects both in villages bordering the national park in the North (Sawai, Masihulan, Saleman) and in the village of Waraka in the south.
It is important to understand that this work focused on the opportunities for PES, but did not assess the feasibility of any identified specific PES projects. If a PES project is to be developed following our recommendations, then a full feasibility assessment should be conducted during the design phase.
