Public Participation of Small-Scale Farmers to Advance the Sustainability of Payments for Ecosystem Services: A Case Study in a Brazilian Watershed

In January 2021, a Federal Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) law was adopted in Brazil, underpinning the need for assessing existing PES schemes. The Cantareira System is one of the largest public water provision systems in the world and in recent years has been pestered by extended periods of drought. This can be partially attributed to the high incidence of degraded pastures and eucalyptus plantations. PES has been proposed as a way to collaborate with the owners of these areas, mostly small-scale farmers. Involving these actors in participatory processes in PES schemes could improve local ownership, resulting in a higher uptake rate and inducing more long-lasting land-use changes. A case study was carried out in Nazaré Paulista, using semi-structured interviews, documentary analysis, and nonparticipant observation of agricultural extension and public participation spaces. It was observed that small-scale farmers tend to be absent from these spaces, and their genuine participation is hindered by unequal power dynamics. This research therefore recommends capacitating local agricultural extensionists to foster social mobilization and to ensure genuine public participation of small-scale farmers, which in turn can advance the sustainability of PES schemes in the Cantareira region.