PAYMENTS FOR ECOLOGICAL SERVICES – A SILVER BULLET OR FOOL’S GOLD FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES IN BRAZIL

Thomas G. Safford

Todos os Trabalhos

Trabalho

DOI

10.29327/9786527226680.1430366

Título do Trabalho

PAYMENTS FOR ECOLOGICAL SERVICES – A SILVER BULLET OR FOOL’S GOLD FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES IN BRAZIL

Autores

Thomas G. Safford

Modalidade

IRSA - Congresso Mundial de Sociologia Rural (01/10/2025 a 20/01/2026)

Área temática

IRSA 25 - Hydrosocial Territories and Water (In)Justice in Rural Worlds

Data de Publicação

06/08/2026

País da Publicação

Brasil

Idioma da Publicação

pt-BR

Página do Trabalho

https://www.even3.com.br/anais/sober-irsa2026/1430366-payments-for-ecological-services--a-silver-bullet-or-fools-gold-for-rural-communities-in-brazil

ISBN

978-65-272-2668-0

Palavras-Chave

water management, institutions, hydro-social relations

Resumo

The increasing use of market-based schemes, or payments for ecological services (PES), to promote conservation and sustainable development is one of the most notable trends in water management around the world. While there are thousands of economics and environmental science articles examining PES, sociological analysis is limited. Brazil has widely adopted PES schemes, and this study used a meta-synthesis approach to investigate the social dimensions of one of the most prominent Brazilian PES initiatives – Programa Produtor de Água (PPA) – analyzing the content of 276 scientific articles, conference proceedings, reports, and theses focused on the PPA. Conceptual frames from organizational sociology guide this analysis, seeking to understand how social factors shaped the development and evaluation of PPA projects. Existing studies of PPA initiatives emphasize environmental and economic assessments and rarely mention the need for sociological data or consideration of the organization and administration of this program. Similarly, PPA project evaluations highlight environmental and economic returns, with few assessments of the benefits PES provides to rural communities. Paradoxically, while numerous ecological and economic studies point to social factors such as uncertain land tenure, administrative failures, trust-in-authorities, and the socioeconomic status of landowners as impacting PPA projects, investigation of these factors is scarce. Relatedly, recommendations call for increased ecological and economic monitoring, rather than sociological studies. These findings point to patterns of bounded rationality, as managers have internalized the assumption that expanded ecological and economic inquiry will inevitably validate PES’ effectiveness. Institutional isomorphism also constrains PPA actors’ ability to consider alternative approaches that focus on hydro-social relations and consider key issues such as structural inequality and the nexus between rural and urban locales. PES has the potential to aid rural communities and forward sustainable development, but further sociological study of these programs will be critical for them to achieve these aspirations.

Título do Evento: 16th World Congress of Rural Sociology and 64th Congress of the Brazilian Society of Rural Economics, Management and Sociology
Cidade do Evento: Porto Alegre
Título dos Anais do Evento: Anais do 64º Congresso da SOBER e XVI Congresso Mundial de Sociologia Rural (IRSA)
Nome da Editora: Even3
Meio de Divulgação: Meio Digital
DOI

Como citar

SAFFORD, Thomas G.. PAYMENTS FOR ECOLOGICAL SERVICES – A SILVER BULLET OR FOOL’S GOLD FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES IN BRAZIL.. In: Anais do 64º Congresso da SOBER e XVI Congresso Mundial de Sociologia Rural (IRSA). Anais...Porto Alegre(RS) UFRGS, 2026. Disponível em: https//www.even3.com.br/anais/sober-irsa2026/1430366-PAYMENTS-FOR-ECOLOGICAL-SERVICES--A-SILVER-BULLET-OR-FOOLS-GOLD-FOR-RURAL-COMMUNITIES-IN-BRAZIL. Acesso em: 26/08/2026