Can payments for ecosystem services contribute to the emergence of a “legal gradient” ?
Putting closely humans and ecosystems, ecosystem services cause a reversal of perspective : nature is no longer considered for itself, but for the benefits it provides to humans. This new perspective, which signs the recognition of a form of human dependence on nature, paves the way for a new legal approach to issues related to ecosystems and biodiversity. It may affect the possible responses of Law to environmental protection and appears to be vector of new approaches, new methods of intervention of Law, in particular the possible emergence of a "legal gradient". The combining of the legal discipline and payments for environmental services precisely highlights this new opportunity.