Capacidad y riesgos de actividades forestales en el almacenamiento de carbono y conservación de biodiversidad en fincas privadas del área central de Costa Rica

Abstract

The payment of environmental services (PSA) in forest ecosystems is an innovative Costa Rican mechanism to recognize the contribution of forest's owners in protecting forest services. A law from 1996, stablished the financial and the institutional mechanisms to implement this payment system in private farms for protection and management of natural forests and forest plantations. This study selects and evaluates criteria and indicators (C&I) from biological, economic and social perspectives, to determine the benefits and risks associates with different forest ecosystems in protecting biodiversity and carbon sequestration services. Besides, the study integrate evaluations from different sectors (scientific and land owners), in order to facilitate decision making process in PSA.