Argentina’s wetlands and forest corridors boast high biodiversity and endemism, and play several important environmental roles, including as carbon sinks. The ecosystems within the country’s Jujuy and Córdoba provinces are highly vulnerable to climate change and face growing threats from deforestation and other human economic activities. While conservation efforts have been strong, a clearer understanding of the value of the benefits these ecosystems provide to people at the national and global scale will be necessary to facilitate the design of innovative financial solutions for their protection and restoration.
Jujuy Province, bordering Chile and Bolivia in Argentina’s northwest, is home to Ramsar wetlands and Andean mountain ecosystems full of incredible mammal and avian biodiversity, many of which provide important cultural and religious value to local people. Farther south, Córdoba’s biodiversity has been impacted greatly by human factors such as urbanization and cattle ranching. Though the Pago por Servicios Ambientales (PSA) funding program exists to provide for conservation needs in the province, its budget is insufficient to conduct the needed biodiversity surveys of Córdoba’s rich forest ecosystems and provide the necessary conservation frameworks for lasting protections.
In partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Conservation Strategy Fund (CSF) conducted a comprehensive economic and legal analysis to safeguard the biodiversity-rich wetlands and forest corridors of Jujuy and Córdoba. These ecosystems—critical as carbon sinks and habitats for endemic species—face mounting pressure from deforestation, urbanization, and cattle ranching.
Our work provided the empirical evidence and financial architecture needed to transition conservation from a cost into a strategic investment.This project also analyzed existing national and provincial regulatory frameworks and proposed concrete adjustments to both strengthen the protection of these forests and encourage private investment in conservation activities.
CSF shared the following key results and recommendations with our partners:
- Economic Valuation of Natural Capital
- Our analysis quantified the critical role of habitat provision and climate regulation services in both provinces. In Córdoba, the study focused on strategic ecosystems like the Caldén, Chaco Árido, and Río Tercero, which face intense pressure from deforestation and urbanization. In Jujuy, the valuation highlighted the global importance of the Altoandina de la Chinchilla and Lagunas de Vilama reserves, as well as the Las Lancitas area.
- Innovative Financial Mechanisms
- CSF identified and structured a Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) scheme designed to provide sustainable funding beyond traditional provincial budgets. For Córdoba, this includes the proposed creation of a provincial compensation credit market, allowing for private sector investment in nature-based solutions. In Jujuy, the project recommended a "Green Score" (Puntaje Verde) system to incentivize environmental responsibility by awarding additional points in public procurement to companies that contribute to the PES fund.
- Legal and Institutional Frameworks
- We conducted a deep dive into national and provincial regulations, proposing concrete normative adjustments to integrate PES into existing laws, such as Córdoba’s Law 10.208. These adjustments aim to consolidate a pioneering subnational financing model supported by a coherent legal framework and dedicated administrative mechanisms.
- Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) Strategies
- The proposed PES schemes include specific strategies for preservation of Category I (Red) native forests and restoration of degraded Category I and II (Yellow) areas. These are supported by clear payment formulas ($Pₚ$) calculated to compensate providers for the opportunity costs of conservation.
- The strategy emphasizes a blended finance model, combining public, private, and philanthropic funds to ensure the long-term autonomy and scalability of conservation efforts beyond limited public budgets.
Robust Governance Structures
- The project designed a comprehensive governance model comprising several specialized units to ensure transparency and effectiveness:
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Management Unit: To handle administrative and strategic oversight.
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Monitoring, Verification, and Reporting (MRV) Unit: To ensure environmental integrity through remote sensing and field validation.
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Financial and Fiduciary Unit: To manage the trust funds and ensure the traceable flow of economic resources to beneficiaries
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By developing a performance-based payment formula ($Pₚ$) that accounts for both opportunity costs and administrative overhead, CSF has designed a transition from a 'subsidy-based' model to a 'market-linked' investment. In Jujuy, this is operationalized through a Green Score system that provides tangible economic advantages for corporate conservation, while in Córdoba, the framework enables a provincial credit market to unlock private capital for the Caldén and Chaco Árido regions.
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This project is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank and implemented in partnership with Fundación Bariloche and Asociación Sustentar.