“With or without payment I conserve”: The fabric of intrinsic, instrumental and relational values in payments for ecosystem services

Environmental management and policy approaches based on singular values (e.g., intrinsic or instrumental) tend to oversimplify human–nature relationships, often marginalizing local values and compromising both equity and effectiveness. Although Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) have been criticized for their instrumental, market-based orientation, these programs have the potential to reflect a diversity of values, depending on how they are designed and implemented. While research on the plural values of nature (i.e., intrinsic, instrumental, and relational) in PES contexts is beginning to emerge, there is still limited empirical research exploring how these values coexist and reinforce one another. This research therefore aims: i) to develop a classification framework for instrumental, relational, and intrinsic values in PES settings; and ii) to apply this framework to two PES programs in Cali, Colombia, to empirically examine how multiple values coexist and interact within these programs. We conducted 60 semi-structured interviews with both community-based and external expert actors, and used content and co-occurrence analysis to explore the ‘value fabric’—the complex and interwoven ways in which values are articulated in PES contexts. We found that relational values were the most frequently mentioned, with the most common co-occurrences observed between the instrumental value of monetary compensation and relational values such as stewardship, quality of life, and social cohesion. We argue that PES design should align with participatory and equity-based approaches that support stewards and their care-based practices. Analyzing values through a ‘value fabric’ lens further emphasizes the diverse and interconnected ways people relate to nature, enabling PES to foster more legitimate, just, and effective conservation outcomes.