Fondo Naturaleza Chile participated in a meeting on economic incentives to recognize territorial services
- Mar 27, 2025
- 2 min read
The meeting, organized by J-PAL and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), took place at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and featured a keynote address by Esther Duflo, Nobel Prize winner in Economics, a panel discussion, and specific workshops.
[Caption above: Paula Caballero, Carolina Schmidt, Carola Moreno, Esther Duflo and Jeanne Lafortune]
The event organized by J-PAL and The Nature Conservancy on "Economic incentives to recognize and reward territorial services" was held in the Hall of Honor of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, a meeting to bring together various organizations dedicated to payment for environmental services (PES) programs to promote collaboration and knowledge exchange.
The day began with a keynote address by Esther Duflo, Nobel Laureate in Economics and Co-Founder of J-PAL/MIT, on the urgency of taking action against climate change. The talk was followed by a panel discussion featuring Paula Caballero, Executive Director for the Latin America region of TNC; Carolina Schmidt, Chair of the Board of Directors of Fondo Naturaleza Chile; Carola Moreno, Coordinator of Finance and International Affairs at the Ministry of Finance; Esther Duflo; and moderated by Jeanne Lafortune.
"Nature's timescales are long, they are not the timescales of a government, they are not the timescales of economic cycles; they require permanence over time and therefore an institutional framework that transcends and allows the contribution of the private sector with tools that incentivize its participation. An example of this was the short law on environmental donations and the creation of the national environmental fund," said Carolina Schmidt, President of the Board of Directors of Fondo Naturaleza Chile, during the panel.
[Caption above: Tomás Saratscheff, Leticia Moya, Bárbara Saavedra, Carolina Schmidt, Coralie Dubost, Eugenio Rengifo and Tomás de la Maza]
The day continued with specific workshops. Eugenio Rengifo, Executive Director of Fondo Naturaleza Chile, participated in the panel on public and private funding sources for payments for environmental services, along with Virgilio Viana, General Superintendent of Fundação Amazônia Sustentável and former Secretary of Environment and Sustainable Development of Amazonas; Andrés Otero, Director of Tepual Conservación; and Rodrigo Arriagada, Principal Researcher at the Latin American Center for Economic Policy at UC.
"The opportunity to share international evidence of successful payments for environmental services programs, lessons learned and good practices allows us to discuss common challenges, such as legal frameworks, financing mechanisms and the effective participation of local communities," said Eugenio Rengifo at the end of the day organized by TNC and JPAL.
Photo and video credits: Eduardo Segovia - Chile Nature Fund.
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