Municipal Payment for Environmental Service - proposition of a monetary valuation method

Abstract

The way in which resources for human survival are obtained, processed, distributed, and disposed defines the economic model. The capitalist economic model predominates worldwide. One of the major challenges of this model remains maintaining the possibilities of obtaining natural resources and the destination of the waste generated, since, until recently, the finitude of resources and the limitations of the natural decomposition of waste were disregarded. There are several initiatives to address these issues, and, in this sense, environmental services have proven to be a relevant alternative to contribute positively to the solution of economic challenges, with environmental and social benefits. Environmental services, despite not being defined this way and having relatively low levels of environmental effectiveness and efficiency, have been long provided by individuals and organizations. For the individuals, sometimes the objective is not the environmental benefit, but their own survival. When provided by organizations, the interests are institutional, such as profit, market positioning, and advertising, among others interesses. Remuneration is given under market conditions, disregarding social and environmental aspects. In January 2021, Federal Law No. 14,119 was enacted in Brazil, which provides for payment for environmental services, clarifies that parties establish in common agreement, both the amount and the payment method for the environmental service. The objective of this work is to propose a method of monetary valuation for payment for environmental services when provided by the individual, which should encourage the provision of environmental services by citizens, favoring monetarily effectiveness and efficiency aspects. For this purpose, through an applied, deductive, bibliographic study, with a qualitative and quantitative approach, comparative nature, of an experimental nature, it focused on investigating monetary valuation for payment for environmental services that met the issues presented. As a result, the work proposed that a reference cost, discounting costs and indirect expenses, is calibrated through effectiveness and efficiency indices. Additionally, the result makes it possible to encourage unstructured, individual, and diffuse economic chains to provide environmental services and social and economic development.