Payment for Environmental Services (PES) schemes are being used around the world in an attempt to facilitate market processes. However, few PES schemes ‘negotiate’ pricing based on comparable estimates of demand and supply. This seminar reports on the development and application of a PES scheme design that aims to mimic market processes for traded goods and services to an extent beyond existing attempts. It demonstrates how ‘efficient’ prices can be ‘negotiated’ through agent intervention and discusses the challenges and limitations encountered in the process. The application of the innovative process involves a pilot PES scheme that aims to increase the supply of biodiversity in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

Dr Gabriela Scheufele is an environmental and natural resource economist. She is currently a Research Fellow at Crawford School of Public Policy at The Australian National University in Canberra. Her work has primarily focused on non-market environmental valuation, econometric analysis of choice data, conservation auctions, payment for environmental services schemes, linking economics with environmental science, and incorporating economic research into policy development.

The Crawford School Research Seminar (CSRS) is a forum for scholars from across Crawford School of Public Policy to share their research and receive input from faculty and doctoral candidates on works-in-progress.