Payment for Ecosystem Services for water conservation under the scenario of future hydrological drought risk - A case study from the Middle Brenta Basin

Water is essential for life, but the increasing frequency, duration and severity of droughts, combined with the impacts of human activities, are putting this resource at risk. In particular, hydrological droughts and water abstraction are affecting the ability of freshwater ecosystems to provide water services. Consequently, there is an increasing emphasis on the implementation of economic instruments, such as Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), to mitigate these risks and ensure the recovery, maintenance and functioning of ecosystems. This thesis aims to investigate the effectiveness of PES as a strategy for water conservation in the context of the challenges posed by hydrological droughts. To this end, the thesis analyses a PES scheme implemented by the LIFE Brenta 2030 project in the Middle Brenta Basin, Italy. The pioneering study established a PES scheme applied to the Integrated Water Service aimed at safeguarding biodiversity and freshwater resources. The innovative financing scheme applies Article 9 of the EU Water Framework Directive and the polluter-pays principle, allowing the environmental and resource costs (ERCs) of drinking water consumption to be internalised in the water tariff. Through a critical assessment of the case study, the thesis aims to understand how PES schemes can serve as a critical tool to enable more efficient and transformative adaptation strategies for water conservation, even in the context of increasing hydrological drought risk.