Towards the policy integration of PES regarding water and forest conservation in agroforestry systems development: an international outlook

Abstract

The problem of natural resources’ conservation is a highly topical issue both for human survival and biodiversity conservation. From the perspective of the overall sustainability of socio-ecological systems, the nexus between water capture and food production is particularly evident in rural-urban regions. Secure potable water provision is a multifaceted priority in the global urban agenda (UN-HABITAT, 2023), in line with the UN SDG 6. Agriculture is the largest consumer of freshwater resources at the global scale (La Rosa, 2023; Dinis Ferreira et al., 2018; Mateo-Sagasta et al., 2018) and conventional farming often uses toxic substances (Schreinemachers and Tipraqsa, 2012) that are filtered and absorbed by soil, contaminating both underground and surface water courses, thus putting at risk the supply of drinking water for millions of people (UNITED NATIONS, 2022). The increasing use of pesticides, fertilizers, and emergent pollutants is often combined with poor management of wastewater and agricultural drainage. From this perspective, organic agriculture is clean-water-friendly and can be developed at a small scale within agroforestry systems, by supporting environmentally sustainable practices, in the logic of agri-environmental payments (Mateo-Sagasta et al., 2018).

Agricultural land uses have replaced forest cover all over the world and the increasing demand for food makes the reversal of this trend unrealistic. Therefore, innovative and complex solutions, including territorial planning efforts, environmental measures and ad hoc integrated projects, appear as essential to challenge the impacts of forest cover loss, water pollution and unhealthy foods on human survival and biodiversity conservation.

The present work focuses on the nexus between PES (Payments for Ecosystem Services) regarding water conservation and agroforestry development, which is fundamental for ecological balance maintenance and restoration. Both water conservation and agroforestry development are targeted by public policies in different countries worldwide, but they are not treated jointly.

To do so, the paper connects to two relevant cases, one of water PES in the municipality of São Paulo (Brazil) and one of agroforestry development in the Veneto Region (Italy).

They are significant case studies for the water public PES policy implementation and the public funding for agroforestry development, respectively. Neither of the two cases is one of a kind, but they represent two specific trends. São Paulo is one of the municipalities which has decided to proceed, independently from a binding federal legislative framework. The Veneto Region represents a typical European region carrying out the rural development policy. More in general, Brazil is a reference country for public PES, especially in the water sector, and has recently begun to develop a legal framework in this regard. Further, the Atlantic forest, the typical forest biome in Southeastern Brazil is the most degraded and, because of that, it has benefitted from several conservation projects (Guerra et al., 2020; Rezende et al., 2018; Strassburg et al., 2016). This makes Brazil a meaningful case to contextualize the potential of agroforestry development, for which Italy is a reference country. On the other hand, Veneto is also a region dramatically affected by water pollution (Müller, 2017) and represents a fruitful occasion to contextualize the water PES opportunities.