This report presents the findings of the "Payment for Environmental Services in the Americas" project (1999-2003), coordinated by PRISMA and supported by the Ford Foundation, as well as PRISMA's framework for the compensation of environmental services from the perspective of peasant and indige-nous communities… The research underpinning this publication was motivated by an overriding concern for equity and a special focus on those 'closest' to the land. The underlying interest was to explore if the PES concept could contribute to overcoming the inequities in the Poor's access to, control over and benefits from their natural resources, while guaranteeing the provision of environmental services.
