Market-Based Instruments for Ecosystem Services between Discourse and Reality: An Economic and Narrative Analysis

Géraldine Froger (), Valérie Boisvert, Philippe Méral (), Jean-François Le Coq (), Armelle Caron and Olivier Aznar
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Géraldine Froger: LEREPS - Laboratoire d'Etude et de Recherche sur l'Economie, les Politiques et les Systèmes Sociaux - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - UT - Université de Toulouse - UT2J - Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - UT - Université de Toulouse - Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Toulouse - ENSFEA - École Nationale Supérieure de Formation de l'Enseignement Agricole de Toulouse-Auzeville
Valérie Boisvert: IGD - Institut de Géographie et Durabilité - UNIL - Université de Lausanne = University of Lausanne
Philippe Méral: GRED - Gouvernance, Risque, Environnement, Développement - UPVM - Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 - IRD [Occitanie] - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - Montpellier SupAgro - Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier
Jean-François Le Coq: UMR ART-Dev - Acteurs, Ressources et Territoires dans le Développement - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - UPVM - Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 - UPVD - Université de Perpignan Via Domitia - UM - Université de Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Cirad-ES - Département Environnements et Sociétés - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement
Armelle Caron: AgroParisTech, ENGREF - Ecole Nationale du Génie Rural, des Eaux et des Forêts

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Abstract: Since the mid-1990s, the concept of ecosystem services has become increasingly popular in academic circles and among decision-makers. Because of its inclusive character, this concept has given rise to different interpretations in economics. Since its inception, it has been associated with the development of market-based instruments (MBIs) in conservation policies. From this perspective, the sustainable provision of ecosystem services is hindered by market failures (e.g., public good attributes, externalities) and prices that do not capture the full value of the natural assets. MBIs are therefore recommended. According to their promoters, they provide powerful incentives to conserve the environment while at the same time offering new sources of income to support rural livelihoods. Our paper contends that different economic narratives, and associated representations of the market failure at stake with the provision of ecosystem services, may support different policy instruments that are all coined as MBIs. As an illustration, we analyze the economic discourse underlying payments for ecosystem services and eco-labels, and we underline the variety of institutional forms to which they give rise in order to emphasize the differences between discourse and practice.

Keywords: joint products; externalities; ecosystem services; market-based instruments; payments for ecosystem services; narratives; environmental certification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-09
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://univ-tlse2.hal.science/hal-01326661v1
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Published in Sustainability, 2015, 7 (9), pp.11595-11611. ⟨10.3390/su70911595⟩

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Journal Article: Market-Based Instruments for Ecosystem Services between Discourse and Reality: An Economic and Narrative Analysis (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01326661

DOI: 10.3390/su70911595

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