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Good practice Imported

Contratos de Retribución por Servicios Ecosistémicos (CRSE) — Chile's National Ecosystem-Service Payment Law, First Piloted via BioAysén

Chile · Coyhaique · See the Chile profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 96% 20/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Chile's 2023 Ley 21.600 created a national legal mechanism for voluntary paid contracts to conserve or restore ecosystems; its first real-world test, the BioAysén pilot in Chilean Patagonia, began FSC-supported ecosystem-service certification on two properties in November 2025.

2 properties
Pilot properties (initial) (November 2025)
7 properties
Planned pilot properties (early 2026 (planned))
Contratos de Retribución por Servicios Ecosistémicos (CRSE) — Chile's National Ecosystem-Service Payment Law, First Piloted via BioAysén

Details

Maturity
Pilot
Promoter
Servicio de Biodiversidad y Áreas Protegidas (SBAP) / Fundación Chile Circular (BioAysén pilot)
Period
2023–ongoing (BioAysén pilot certification from November 2025)
Keywords
biodiversity finance, ecosystem service payments, forest and water conservation, legal framework

Context

In 2023, Chile enacted Ley 21.600, creating the country's Servicio de Biodiversidad y Áreas Protegidas (SBAP) and, under its Article 52, a new legal instrument called Contratos de Retribución por Servicios Ecosistémicos (CRSE) — voluntary contracts under which a landholder commits to preserve, restore or sustainably manage an ecosystem in exchange for compensation from the beneficiaries of the services it provides. The law frames CRSE as one of several new economic instruments for biodiversity, alongside compensation banks and certification schemes.

Activities

The mechanism's first practical test is BioAysén, a biodiversity-and-natural-capital initiative in the Aysén region of Chilean Patagonia, led by Fundación Chile Circular under a mandate from the Consejo del Salmón and funded by the state development agency Corfo, bringing together Chile's Ministry of Environment, the National Forest Corporation (CONAF), private landholders and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Results

In November 2025 the project began its first ecosystem-service certification process on two pilot properties, with plans to expand to seven properties by early 2026 as part of a nascent 'biodiversity bank'.

Conclusions

Because both the law and its first pilot are very recent, there is not yet any independently verified outcome data — no measured carbon, water or biodiversity result has been published for a live CRSE contract. What exists today is a genuine, well-documented institutional innovation (a national law, a dedicated implementing agency, and an FSC-backed certification pilot) rather than a proven track record.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k) — Funded by the state development agency Corfo; no public grant amount is specified in the source material.
Time to results
Short (< 1 year) — Law enacted 2023; first pilot certification began November 2025; expansion to seven properties planned by early 2026.
Staffing & skills
Fundación Chile Circular — leads BioAysén under a mandate from the Consejo del Salmón, Servicio de Biodiversidad y Áreas Protegidas (SBAP) — national implementing agency for the CRSE legal mechanism, Partners: Chile's Ministry of Environment, CONAF, private landholders, and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

Conditions for success

  • A codified national legal framework (Ley 21.600) providing the legal basis for voluntary conservation contracts
  • FSC certification providing a credible independent standard
  • A multi-stakeholder coalition combining a public agency, an industry council, an NGO, and private landholders

Common failure modes

  • No independently verified outcome data yet exists — it is too early to assess ecological or financial performance of live CRSE contracts

Where it fits

Governance type
national law creating a dedicated implementing agency (SBAP), first tested via a pilot led by a private foundation
Scale
sub-national pilot (2, expanding to 7, properties in the Aysén region), intended to scale toward a national programme
Income level
high-income (Chile, OECD)

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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