The Conservation Industry

It is hard to believe that this edition of the Ecosystem Marketplace’s newsletter marks the 6th month of 2007. With the year half gone, it is interesting to consider what has defined the intersection of ecology and economics in 2007 thus far, and what emerging trends offer insight into the second half of the year.

If pressed to pick just one important development in the realm of ecosystem services conservation, we would have to tap the emerging recognition of natural resource stewardship and restoration as a dynamic area of investment. In 2006, people in various environmental markets began to discuss the idea of cultivating or ‘stacking’ the multiple conservation revenues associated with a piece of land or restoration project. Linked to this idea, but also larger than it in important ways, is the new conceptualization of conservation as a multi-faceted area for investment. As large cap corporations and high level politicians have focused on fighting climate change and stewarding ecosystem services, 2007 has ushered in practical big picture thinking. Looking in from the outside, new players are seeing payments for ecosystem services as one among a larger suite of economic opportunities in the area of conservation. They are looking at mitigation banking, forestry carbon and water-quality trading alongside renewable energy, green building, conservation development and water-related green tech as sectors worthy of new investment. Mainstream actors in finance and politics are asking how environmental markets and ecosystem services tie into the larger conservation industry. We think that as new voices begin to ask this question, so too should we.

Based on this recognition, we encourage you to consider the big picture as you read this month’s collection of stories. Each, in one way or another, is about investing in the next generation of conservation – be it through new private sector approaches to real estate development in the United States or long established public payment programs in Costa Rica. Follow us as we chart the cutting edge of conservation and celebrate a great first half of 2007!

— The Ecosystem Marketplace Team

For questions or comments, please contact newsletter@ecosystemmarketplace.com