13. Establishing Payment for Environmental Services in Urban Areas

The design and implementation of green infrastructures represents a step forward in the efforts to manage disaster risk reduction related to natural and man-made activities, as well as to mitigate and adapt to climate change. However, these green infrastructures permeate public and private lands, increasing the challenges for putting such a concept into practice. In this context, this chapter presents and discusses the application of payment for environmental services (PES) as a strategy to promote the implementation of green infrastructures in urban areas. Therefore, we analyze the history of the urbanization process in Brazil, which has generated serious social and environmental problems. It is also presented that there are regulatory frameworks to promote urban planning and territorial management based on sustainability goals, focused on the City Statute. Based on these elements, the theme of green infrastructures, their concept, principles, benefits and their link to environmental services has been deepened, reinforcing the fundamental right to an ecologically balanced environment and to sustainable cities. Complementarily, the Brazilian cases of the cities of Extrema/MG and São Paulo/SP are presented as examples of the application of payment for environmental services as a mechanism able to drive the alliance between economic incentives and environmental protection. These initiatives demonstrate the potential of urban policy instruments in Brazil as a driving force for improving the environmental and social quality of life in cities.