Cultural ecosystem services enhance investments in other ecosystem services

This chapter examines how cultural ecosystem services (CES)—education, sense of place, and inspiration—can bolster the long-term success of other ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration and agricultural resilience. Through a case study of the Zanmi Kafe project in Haiti’s Central Plateau, it describes a partnership between the Sewanee school, the Haitian organization Association Zanmi Agrikol, and approximately 50 family farmers. Using a payment for environmental services scheme, the farmers established shade-grown coffee agroforestry systems and received payments for the additional carbon sequestered, generating co-benefits such as soil protection, income diversification, and reduced charcoal production. The authors document that, since 2013, the Sewanee Green Fund has paid over US$30,000 to 50 households for the capture of more than 600 tons of CO₂, with a 20–40% increase in household income during peak years. They argue that the emphasis on ecosystem services (ESS) strengthened carbon permanence and additionality, reduced verification costs, and provided a component of restitution and climate justice between the Global North and South. They conclude that academic institutions can be natural partners in ecosystem services programs that integrate SEC, offering a replicable model in other vulnerable contexts.