Abstract
In this chapter, I review the theoretical framework of payments for environmental services (PES) schemes and how it applies to the indigenous estate in Australia. This review indicates that there is a mismatch between the theoretical requirement of PES—secure property rights and targeting generators of negative externalities—and the conditions of indigenous-owned land in northern Australia. This, coupled with the lack of a legal framework for market exchanges of ES, leaves indigenous rangers exposed to market forces driving them into short-term contractual arrangements with little cultural relevance and possibly few social, environmental and economic benefits. PES cannot substitute for the lack of public investment and the removal of policy distortions that are often at the core of environmental and development problems in many indigenous remote communities.
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Notes
- 1.
Throughout the chapter, I refer to the aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population as indigenous people.
- 2.
For a definition of remote and very remote areas, see Australian Bureau of Statistics (2007).
- 3.
The indigenous estate is land held by—or on behalf of—indigenous people under a corporate or group title. It covers around 20% of the Australian landmass and has internationally significant environmental and cultural values (Altman et al. 2007).
- 4.
Unlike Van Hecken and Bastiaensen (2010), I do not regard freedom to choose among real alternatives or the fact that a supply response is triggered by a price incentive as the features distinguishing PES from command-and-control approaches. Facing a pollution tax, for instance, a firm could choose to pay the tax, invest in cleaner technology or exit the market. Also, a subsidy to buyers increases the price they are willing to pay, hence increasing the sellers’ revenue and making production economically viable. PES aim to change the composition of the firm’s output, while command-and-control measures, taxes and subsidies affect revenues, volume and production costs.
- 5.
Yolngu are indigenous people from east Arnhem Land.
- 6.
The remaining 90% is distributed to indigenous landowners and to the Warrdeken rangers that manage the Warrdeken IPA.
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Concu, N. (2013). Indigenous Development Through Payments for Environmental Services in Arnhem Land, Australia: A Critical Analysis. In: Muradian, R., Rival, L. (eds) Governing the Provision of Ecosystem Services. Studies in Ecological Economics, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5176-7_9
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