Unresolved social dilemmas that inhibit pro-social behaviour are at the root of most pressing global environmental issues such as climate change, ecological degradation and water scarcity. Meeting these challenges through purely externally imposed (‘top-down’) solutions can be ineffective or...

Payments for environmental services (PES) have gained wide popularity as an approach to promote environmentally friendly land use or agricultural production practices. Yet academics have also voiced caveats against seeing PES as a panacea. This article discusses whether PES is an appropriate and...