An Introduction to the Conceptual Basis of RUPES: Rewarding upland poor for the environmental services they provide

Summary: Payments for environmental services are normally discussed in terms of 'buyers' and 'sellers' - as if there are only two sides of a coin. Taking this analogy, we may see the 'brokers' (those that act as a third party between the buyers and the sellers) as the third side of the coin. However, the chance that a coin will land on this side and reach a stable equilibrium is small - it normally falls to either of the two other sides.