Important steps towards establishing a system of payments for ecosystem services (PES) were made during the 2010 South East Asia Katoomba Group meeting in Hanoi in late June. Norway provided funding for the meeting. Norway’s Ambassador Ståle Risa and Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan, held opening speeches.
Payments for ecosystem services (PES) is an important part of the efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). Vietnam is piloting both UN-REDD and PES. The REDD initiative was launched by Norway.
The Katoomba Group is an international network working to promote and improve capacity related to markets and payments for ecosystem services (PES). The mission of the Katoomba Group is threefold: to identify and respond to gaps in payments for ecosystem services (PES) theory and practice; share information about new developments related to PES markets; and address key PES challenges, such as mobilization of private sector buyers and enabling progress on legal, policy related and institutional frameworks.
The meeting in Hanoi in June 2010 addressed some major issues such as payment for watershed services, and the importance of mangrove in carbon sequestration.
