Assessing Community Readiness for Payments for Ecosystem Service Schemes for Tropical Primary Forest Protection in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Primary forest conservation is essential for limiting climate change, meeting objectives, and the Sustainable Development Goals. Schemes that compensate communities forgone extractive uses are important policy tools, but effective deployment demands an understanding of local deforestation drivers host communities’ preferences. We use Q-methodology to reveal discourses present in three Democratic Republic Congo. Our results factors with a common emphasis on preferences compensation form social investments, rather than cash. The main contrasts were attitudes towards farming. first discourse, we call conservationist—open ideas, displayed commitment learning better practices community material benefit service conservation. second which demonstrated greater confidence their capacity support livelihoods from farming, aspirational artisans. third, was acutely aware impact farming conservation, called passive, conflicted farmers. also demonstrate aspiration continued development amongst participants, although still correlated may lead schemes inadvertently stirring future land tensions if design does not reconcile agricultural