Transforming peri-urban territories through payment for ecosystem services networks in Southern Brazil

Abstract The importance of institutional arrangements for nature conservation, like Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) is recognized in the literature but needs more empirical exploration in peri-urban contexts where power imbalances play out more strongly due to urbanization drivers. We documented the actor configurations in the peri-urban environment of a watershed PES in Curitiba and conducted a Social Network Analysis (SNA) to enhance our analysis with a power layer. The analysis points to access advantages of powerful urban stakeholders to promote the commoditization of nature through PES, lacking stakeholder engagement which amplifies inequalities in peri-urban territories. In Brazil’s current political scenario the neglect of environmental institutions shows increasing effects on conservation. We point out potential for participation of more diverse actors and the integration of institutions to benefit the PES arrangement in terms of ecosystem flows and social equity.