Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) are designed to create incentives that benefit both nature and people. For example, upstream landowners may receive payments to preserve forests, which supports biodiversity while maintaining a clean water supply for downstream communities. Closely related are nature-based carbon credit projects, which use similar conservation mechanisms but are financed through the sale of carbon credits—each representing a verified emission reduction or avoidance that can be traded to offset emissions.

This project seeks to enhance the monitoring of such initiatives by building a multidimensional MRV framework. By incorporating environmental, biodiversity, and social indicators, the project ensures that PES and carbon projects are assessed not only for their climate benefits but also for their contributions to ecosystem health and community well-being. The goal is to support more transparent, equitable, and impactful conservation financing.