Payments for Environmental Services
What are Payments for Environmental Services?
Payments for Environmental Services (PES) are contracts through which farmers, cooperatives or communities receive direct financial incentives for adopting sustainable land-use practices that protect forests. Payments are strictly performance-based: beneficiaries are paid only when agreed environmental results are achieved and verified. Six activities can be supported across partner countries: agroforestry, reforestation, perennial crops, natural regeneration, sustainable forest management and conservation. PES creates a clear and measurable way to reduce deforestation while improving rural livelihoods.
Why PES?
More than one million hectares of forest are lost every year in Central Africa, mainly due to poverty-driven slash-and-burn agriculture and small-scale charcoal production. Traditional enforcement tools have had limited impact because they do not change the economic incentives that drive forest loss. PES offers a different approach by providing a direct revenue stream for sustainable practices, enabling rural households to increase their income while protecting the Congo Basin, the world’s most important tropical carbon sink. This makes PES a practical solution for climate, biodiversity and development challenges.
How does it work?
PES follows a four-step process: enrolment, contracting, monitoring and payments. Participants voluntarily enrol and validate land rights; they then sign PES contracts that specify activities and payment rules. Results are monitored using geotagged photos, field verification and satellite imagery, complemented by independent checks. Once performance is confirmed, payments are delivered through mobile money, vouchers or bank transfers. This system ensures that climate finance reaches local actors directly, efficiently and transparently.
What is the PES potential in Central Africa?
Central Africa has one of the world’s highest potentials for PES. More than 270 million hectares are suitable for PES activities without causing additional deforestation. Modelling shows that full deployment of PES across this area could generate exceptional benefits, including the potential to sequester 4.8 gigatons of CO2e annually, seven times the Congo Basin’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2022. PES could also play a major role in avoiding deforestation, improving food and energy security, and stimulating rural economies. This vision aligns with the Belém Call to Action, which urges rainforest regions and partners to scale up solutions that link forest protection with fair economic opportunities.
CAFI’s PES tools
CAFI has developed two complementary digital tools to make PES transparent, efficient and scalable. The PES Management Tool oversees the entire PES lifecycle, from enrolment and contract creation to field monitoring, verification, reporting and payments. Ground Impact, CAFI’s PES planning tool, uses spatial data, ecological modelling and economic forecasts to identify where PES can deliver the greatest climate and development returns. Together, these tools provide the technical foundation needed for large-scale performance-based land-use incentives across the Congo Basin.