Impacts of payment for ecosystem services of mountain agricultural landscapes on farming women in Nepal

This study assesses the potential impacts of Payment for Ecosystems Services (PES) of mountain agricultural landscapes, with a specific focus on the implications for Nepalese farming women, who have triple roles (managers, workers, and users) with ecosystems goods and services (ESs). It utilizes data of mixed sources: direct observations in the fields, discussions with farm and development workers and published materials. The assessment shows that the impacts of PES on the wellbeing of these women vary with input, process and output pathways. Many farm activities for promoting ESs increase uses of land and labour inputs which can exacerbate workload, health, financial and local food security problems, and hamper meeting the immediate needs of farming women. The extent of input pathway effects depends more on the choice of activity over the type of ES. The production, marketing, and policy-related processes of the PES enhance education, empowerment, entrepreneurship and leadership, and contribute to meeting the strategic needs of the women. The PES increases income, cash flow and employment and improves living environmental conditions. The outputs provide better social protection, offset the adverse effects associated with increasing input uses, and contribute to meeting the women’s basic and strategic needs. Improvement in ES conditions provides additional benefits for farming women over men due to specific requirements associated with their unique body physiology and reproductive function. Appropriate designing and serious implementation are, however, the preconditions of the policy to result in the positive impacts.