Selected References on Ecosystem Services
Stacking Ecosystem Services Payments: Risks and Solutions
This article in Environmental Law Reporter discusses questions about how landowners can receive multiple payments for the ecosystem services they provide from the same parcel, a practice known as stacking. Stacking can provide multiple revenue streams for landowners and encourage them to manage their lands for multiple ecosystem services. However, if not well-managed, it may also lead to a net loss of services.
Stacking Opportunities and Risks in Environmental Credit Markets
This article in Environmental Law Reporter discusses the critical need to establish coordinated policies and regulations to ensure that environmental mitigation markets result in real, verified, and additional mitigation, especially when credit stacking is involved.
PCAST Executive Report - Sustaining Environmental Capital: Protecting Society and the Economy
This executive report from The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology's (PCAST) Working Group on Biodiversity Preservation and Ecosystem Sustainability addresses the needs and opportunities of governments – and especially the U.S. Federal government – to fulfill more effectively their responsibility in relation to the protection of environmental capital and ecosystem services. PCAST's recommendations involve a three-pronged effort encompassing ways to make better use of existing knowledge, to support the generation of essential new knowledge, and to expand the use of informatics.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
Released in 2005, this report examines the state of the world’s ecosystems and ecosystem services, representing the work of more than 1,360 experts worldwide. The report evaluates, summarizes, interprets, and communicates existing information regarding ecosystem change and human well-being and the scientific basis for action needed to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of these ecosystems.
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
The TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) was created at a meeting of the G8+5 in 2007. These nations decided there was a need to better understand the economic benefits of biodiversity conservation. The aim of TEEB is to provide a bridge between the multi-disciplinary science of biodiversity and the arena of international and national policy as well as local government and business practices. It is delivered through a series of reports addressing the needs of major stakeholders such as national and local decision makers, businesses, and the wider public.
The Bridgespan Group: The State of Ecosystem Services
Funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Bridgespan group undertook a project to help provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of ecosystem services and its potential for impact in environmental conservation. This Report combines interviews, literature reviews, and case studies to help provide a map of the field and to facilitate learning.
This report was prepared by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) on behalf of the Oregon Sustainability Board. With input from the Ecosystem Services Market Working Group and its ad hoc advisory group, the report offers recommendations for creating successful ecosystem marketplaces. Due in part to the passage of this bill, Oregon has become a national leader in creating a framework for markets for ecosystem services to efficiently maintain ecological benefits, encourage environmental restoration, and sustain local economies.
Payments for ecosystem services: some nuts and bolts
This paper lays out the basic information for Payments of Ecosystem Services (PES) for a non-technical audience. This assessment combines literature reviews and field observations from research to demystify the topic of PES. It does this by starting with a simple and coherent definition of the term, further identifying other key terms and providing practical how-to hints for PES design and evaluation.
World Resources Institute: Definitions of Ecosystem Services
This fact sheet synthesizes definitions and examples of ecosystem services from several papers and reports.
The USDA Office of Environmental Markets has published a
series of case studies to show how markets and payments for ecosystem services
can benefit farmers and landowners. These landowners participate in a variety
of ecosystem markets and payment programs, including wetland and biodiversity
banking and the voluntary carbon market, to supplement traditional income from
crops and livestock.
Innovations in Market-based Watershed Conservation in the United States
EcoAgriculture Partners prepared this report for the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, Inc. and USDA Office of Environmental Markets, which describes a variety of payments for watershed services projects and programs across the United States.
If you would like to suggest a paper or report for us to include in this list, please contact Abby Van de Bogert (abby.vandebogert@duke.edu)
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