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The concept of ‘ecosystem services’ was suggested in the 1970s by ecologists to highlight societal dependence on ecosystems (Westman, 1977). It gained popularity among policy makers in the late 1990s, becoming associated with monetary valuation and payment schemes (Pesche et al., 2012; Gómez-Baggethun, 2010; Gatzweiler, 2006). Payments for Environmental Services (PES) were proposed as a new policy paradigm to connect those actors who benefited from ecosystem services with actors who contributed to the provision of such services, through a voluntary transaction which satisfies conditionality1 and additionality2 (Engel et al., 2008; Pagiola and Platais, 2004).

A wide range of models came to be grouped behind this common terminology, ranging from strictly market arrangements to national public policies. PES have been broadly defined as ‘a transfer of resources between social actors, which aims …