Environmental Subsidiarity as a Guiding Principle for Forestry Governance: Application to Payment for Ecosystem Services and REDD+ Architecture

Complex problems and unchallenged solutions: Bringing ecosystem governance to the forefront of the UN sustainable development goals

“…Applying the subsidiarity principle and allowing people to develop multiple solutions to problems reduce the emphasis on their “wickedness”. The subsidiarity principle refers to the importance of the contribution of individuals in communities and requires that decisions and actions are done and are accountable at the lowest appropriate governance level (Vischer 2001 ; Martinez de Anguita et al 2013 ). If well thought, subsidiarity should lead to “empowerment of individuals acting together through social groupings and associations” (Vischer 2001 , pp.…”

“…Ecosystem governance is defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as “the interactions among structures, processes, and traditions that determine how power and responsibilities are exercised, how decisions are taken, and how citizens or other stakeholders have their say in the management of natural resources—including biodiversity conservation” (IUCN 2004 ). This definition integrates the notion of SES and subsidiarity principle (also referred to as environmental subsidiarity; Martınez de Anguita et al 2013 ), where communities play a role in using various ecosystem services as well as defining solutions and sustainable development pathways, while being the stewards of those ecosystems. This also acknowledges the importance of connections between people and ecosystems, recognizing that without sustainable healthy ecosystems there can be no sustainable healthy communities (Vasseur et al 2002a ).…”

“…There are opportunities through some of the international programs such as REDD (Martınez de Anguita et al 2013 ). REDD + policies are usually developed at the national level with very little benefits for local communities.…”

“…Using an ecosystem governance approach, it would be possible for countries to develop a national policy while at the same time leaving local stakeholders responsible for taking care of resources. Because they are part of the solutions, they can better define their needs and even develop a local market (Martınez de Anguita et al 2013 ). One interesting example of such an approach (although not included in the reforestation scheme of the country) is a 10 ha forest in Cumanda, Chimborazo, Ecuador, where the owner decided about 10 years ago to attempt to grow a forest that looks more like a natural forest while still being functional, instead of the normal monoculture plantations of his neighbors.…”

“…National governments embracing ecosystem governance will help all classes of citizens benefit from the implementation of SDGs. The UN, international bodies, and the implementation of global agreements must accept the need to provide resources to support the emergence of new organizations and institutions based on new governance models, as explained in the case of the REDD + program (Martinez de Anguita et al 2013 ). The development of national policies matched with local community participation under this program has shown potential such as the case of the Juma REDD Project in Novo Aripuana, Amazonas, Brazil, where the Bolsa Floresta PES program was implemented by the Foundation Sustainable Amazonas ( http://fas-amazonas.org/pbf/ ).…”