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Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) in Italy

In 2015 the Italian Parliament approved law n. 221,  concerning  the green economy and the sustainable use of natural resources.

This law delegates the Government to adopt one or more decrees to introduce a Payment for Ecosystem Services (Pagamenti dei Servizi Ecosistemici e Ambientali – PSEA) system into the Italian legislation.

Even if the Italian Government has not still adopted the mentioned decrees, Law n. 221 provides some specific elements to orient the PES policy in Italy:

– the transformation of the ecosystem services in market products;

– the PES should increase or maintain ecosystem functions;

– the carbon compensation coming from public forests, the like water regulation measures in mountain areas, biodiversity conservation and landscape preservation should be valorized through the PES system;

– the incentives to environmental accountability systems.

A seminar on PES was held on June 20 in Rome.  The same day the Italian Parliament discussed the regulatory framework on protected areas, which also includes the PES adoption in parks and reserves.