Community participation in payment for ecosystem services design and implementation: An example from Trinidad

The inclusion of communities in the design and implementation of payment for ecosystem services (PES) schemes is not a widely publicized practice in spite of the many accepted benefits that arise from the full participation of communities in interventions which affect them. The results of a pilot PES project in the Caura Valley, Trinidad presented in this paper, show that even with the highly technical aspects of valuing ecosystem services as a requirement for PES schemes, communities can be involved in the design and implementation of such schemes. Based on an examination of the Caura community during the design and implementation of the PES project, we suggest that the successful design of the PES scheme in Caura was based on the community's active participation in the development of the project concept, the ecosystem service infrastructure, and the management framework for the PES. The paper concludes with research recommendations for improving the design and implementation of PES schemes.