Participation in payments for ecosystem services programs in the Global South: A systematic review

This article presents a systematic review of the factors and motivations that explain participation in payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs in the Global South. PES are voluntary conservation incentive programs and participation is determined by eligibility, willingness, and ability to participate. Following the PRISMA guidelines, we review 78 studies and summarize how willingness (financial and non-financial motivations) and ability (based on the capital assets framework) to participate are measured and the direction of influence of these variables. An increasing number of studies assess the role of both financial and non-financial motivators on PES participation. Financial and non-financial motivators, including pro-social, pro-environmental, and risk reduction, positively influence willingness to participate. Most studies consider the role of at least one capital asset in determining ability to participate in PES programs. In general, participants in PES programs have more capital assets than non-participants. Our findings suggest that the theory behind how PES mechanisms work needs to be updated to account for more complex behavioral theories and a wider set of factors and motivations. Results from this systematic review can be used to inform the design of PES programs and help shed light on why PES programs achieve their environmental or socioeconomic objectives.