Lasting environmental protection through monetary incentives

Many of the world's ecosystems are overloaded and facing tipping points. This also threatens their many services that are essential for our survival and which are usually taken for granted. These include, for example, fresh drinking water, breathable air and plant pollination. One approach to protecting ecosystems is the so-called Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES). However, critics fear that this approach could displace other, morally based motivations for environmental protection. A study by Esther Blanco, professor of economics at the University of Innsbruck, now shows that this is not the case.