A growing number of Payments for Environmental Services (PES) schemes are being implemented at the community level in developing countries, especially in the context of climate change mitigation efforts to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD). In parallel, there is vigorous commentary about the implications of market-based or neoliberal conservation strategies, and their potential effects on communities that depend on natural resources. This article explores the political dimensions of community-level PES in Cambodia, where contracts for 'avoided deforestation' and 'biodiversity conservation' were implemented in five communities. The research examines three aspects of the community-level PES model that are inherently political: the engagement of communities as single homogeneous entities, capable of entering PES contracts; the simplification of land-use practices and resource rights; and the assumption that contracts are voluntary or reflect 'community choice'. These elements of PES work both discursively and practically to silence certain voices and claims, while privileging others. Therefore, the problematic nature of community-level PES is not that it is a market per se, but that it is a powerful intervention masquerading as a market. This process of 'market masquerades' emerges as a key element in the politics of neoliberal conservation in practice.We would like to thank the editors of this special issue and two anonymous referees for their helpful and insightful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. The first author received research funding from the General Sir John Monash Foundation, and is very grateful for its support. Thank you also to Anna Hutchens, Judith Pabian and Justin Welbergen. Development and Change 43(1): 133-158.

There is an emerging recognition that the diversity of life comprises both biological and cultural diversity. In the past, however, it has been common to make divisions between nature and culture, arising partly out of a desire to control nature. The range of interconnections between biological and cultural diversity are reflected in the growing variety of environmental sub-disciplines that have emerged. In this article, we present ideas from a number of these sub-disciplines. We investigate four bridges linking both types of diversity (beliefs and worldviews, livelihoods and practices, knowledge bases and languages, and norms and institutions), seek to determine the common drivers of loss that exist, and suggest a novel and integrative path forwards. We recommend that future policy responses should target both biological and cultural diversity in a combined approach to conservation. The degree to which biological diversity is linked to cultural diversity is only beginning to be understood. But it is precisely as our knowledge is advancing that these complex systems are under threat. While conserving nature alongside human cultures presents unique challenges, we suggest that any hope for saving biological diversity is predicated on a concomitant effort to appreciate and protect cultural diversity.

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Although persimmon fruit is grown in various countries and is increasingly appreciated for its nutritional value, health benefits and rich flavour, surprisingly little research has been conducted to uncover the components responsible for its unique flavour. An aroma extract of persimmon fruit (Diospyros kaki L., var. Triumph) was obtained by hydrodistillation under vacuum followed by solid phase extraction. Gas chromatography-mass spectometry (GC-MS) analysis of the extract led to the positive identification of 50 compounds, among which aldehydes emerged as the most important class of volatile compounds. Thirty-two compounds were determined to have aroma-impact, by gas chromatography-olfactometry analysis of the aroma extract. The six most intense aroma-impact compounds were methional, (E)-2-hexenal, phenylacetaldehyde, (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal, hexanal and Furaneol W . Their aroma qualities largely explain the aroma character of persimmon fruit, which was described as fresh peach, a touch of orange, sweet, woody, floral, green and potato. Unambiguous identification of trace aroma-impact compounds (E,E,Z)-2,4,6-nonatrienal and (E,Z,Z)-2,4,7-decatrienal by GC-MS was achieved by applying a solid phase extraction procedure for selective isolation of carbonyl compounds.

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