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ABSTRACTED FROM SUMMARY: Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) is a direct approach for environmental conservation whereby service providers receive payments that are conditional on acceptable conservation performance. An enabling legal framework is an essential prerequisite for successful PES implementation. Before drafting new legal instruments, the current legal framework should be assessed for potential opportunities and bottlenecks. This policy review therefore aims to analyze the existing policies and legislations that are relevant to PES implementation in Northern Thailand. Based on the analysis, the challenges for PES are identified and policy suggestions are provided in order to facilitate PES implementation in the Maesa-Kogma Man and Biosphere Reserve including its extended area (hereafter referred to as the “Reserve”). The review of existing policies and legislations reveals primary challenges for PES implementation in the Reserve, they are: unclear land rights in State-owned land, unclear rights in ecosystem services and return payments, limited policy support to encourage demand for PES and inadequate regulatory and institutional regime for PES. These challenges contribute to uncertainty in financial sustainability, risk of project failure and high transaction costs among buyers and sellers. In light of these challenges, concrete steps to implement the pilot PES project in the interim are offered.
