Beer, beef, and boards: the role of intermediaries in payment for ecosystem services arrangements in northwestern Montana

Abstract

Payments for ecosystem or ecological services (PES) are voluntary, often marketbased approaches to protecting environmental values. In the rural United States, some landowners receive PES through government led conservation programs, but little is known about their involvement in market based arrangements. We analyzed three examples of market based PES arrangements in northwestern Montana: watershed restoration and craft brewing, niche meat production, and certified timber supplies. We find that intermediaries were working between buyers and sellers in each case to set conditions for transactions and undertake the mechanics of implementation. These findings align with existing conceptualizations of intermediaries as crucial links in PES arrangements, but also suggest that intermediaries for market based PES arrangements are not always facilitators or neutral nongovernmental actors; they may actually be from the private sector and drive the process by serving as buyers. This research contributes to stronger understanding of the possibilities for local market based conservation in the rural West.

Indonesia's Forest Management Units: Effective intermediaries in REDD+ implementation?

“…However, discussions of PES arrangement in general, and REDD+ literature in particular, have tended to focus on targeting buyers and providers in isolation, while overlooking the important functions of intermediaries (Davis et al, 2014. In this paper, we have examined the necessary roles of intermediaries in REDD + projects.…”

“…To assume this more transformative function, they must develop specific strategies to bring together (network) local actors for REDD + project design, align the interests and demands of different local actors to redevelop their relations for shared goals, and translate those goals to fit into the national and international agenda of carbon stock improvement. All of these roles have been shown to be critical for effective intermediaries in PES arrangements (Davis et al, 2014. While ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration and biodiversity, have global implications, they are often viewed as abstract notions by local communities and other stakeholders.…”

“…In this hybrid institutional approach, local institutions must function not only as policy intermediaries that implement mandated policies and regulations, but also PES intermediaries bridging the external interests of funders (buyers) of REDD+ projects with the interests of local communities (providers). Previous studies on the roles of intermediaries in PES arrangements in developing countries have focused on how international or regional NGOs can help socially vulnerable groups in arrangements between local people and government, i.e., the "pro-poor" element in PES design (Davis et al, 2014). Intermediaries can help shape the nature and process of the resource transfer between providers and buyers in PES arrangements, although their specific roles have not yet been studied extensively (Muradian et al, 2010).…”

“…Although not a panacea, systematically establishing and cultivating REDD+ intermediaries at the local level may be a politically attainable solution. Intermediaries are known to play a variety of critical roles in establishing and operating PES arrangements (Davis et al, 2014;Leimona et al, 2013;Pham et al, 2010). Government agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), international agencies, local organizations and professional consulting firms may serve as intermediaries (Pham et al, 2010).…”

An Assessment of Intermediary Roles in Payments for Ecosystem Services Schemes in the Context of Catchment Management: An Example from South West England

“…A diversity of organisations, governmental and non-governmental, have facilitated development and operation of PES schemes (Porras et al, 2008), but Trust Funds and local and international NGOs are observed to be the most common forms of intermediary. The private sector has not generally provided the intermediary function, though Davis et al (2015), cite exceptions from northwest Montana, USA.…”