The art of paying for nature's services

Background/Question/Methods Increasing reliance for water services on collaborations between cities and  distant rural watersheds characterized by non-point pollution problems raises question of what makes such collaborations effective. Outcomes in New York City’s watershed collaboration with upstate communities  are analyzed  utilizing  both studies of the collaboration’s economic impact  using comparative statistics and  of different types of collaboration conflicts using interviews and document reviews

Results/Conclusions

The analysis  demonstrates that paying for nature’s services is not just a matter of money, but  is an art. Just as the creativity of art rests on a foundation of understanding, strength and discipline, so the flexibility which is both possible and necessary in collaborations, requires a foundation of   good science, strong environmental law and access to courts for legal rights. The flexibility is required because of the  interactions with local communities, feedback effects and trade offs required during the implementation process.  After a brief review of evidence of positive economic gains from the collaboration, analysis of  the implementation phase of two collaboration programs, one for waste water treatment and the other for land acquisition, reveals lessons learned in flexibility with regard to rules, necessary tradeoffs in goals, and the importance of  strong law and good science.