USDA Office of #Ecosystem Services and Markets
"Agriculture producers provide many ecosystem services which have historically been viewed as free benefits to society - clean water and air, wildlife habitat, carbon storage, and scenic landscapes. Lacking a formal structure to market these services, farmers, ranchers and forest landowners are not generally compensated for providing these critical public benefits. Market-based approaches to conservation are proven to be a cost-effective method to achieve environmental goals and sustain working and natural landscapes. Without financial incentives, these ecosystem services may be lost as privately-owned lands are sold or converted to development." -- The current interrogations about environmental issues, such as biodiversity and ecosystems services are more and more integrated in governments and decision making.
The USDA[1] secretary Ed Schafer reported the creation of a new office on December 18, 2009: the Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets, as well as a Conservation and Land Management Environmental Services Board. Authorization was approved in the Farm Bill. This is the result of the last actions by the Bush administration to address climate change issues[2]. It will "assist the Secretary of Agriculture in the development of new technical guidelines and science-based methods to assess environmental service benefits which will in turn promote markets for ecosystem services including carbon trading to mitigate climate change"[3].
The Office will be directed by Sally Collins (former Associate Chief of the DA Forest Service) who worked on ecosystems services and markets as tools promoting sustainable land use. She believes the office will make industries and private land owner associates, while restoring forests through the carbon tax.
During its first year, it will collaborate with the Conservation and Land Management Environmental Services Board, which is composed by advisers from other governmental groups. The CLMES Board will be assisted by an Advisory Committee, including farmers, ranchers, forest owners, and other official representatives. It may be a sign that the US government apprehends the interdependence concept for environmental policies. Federal agencies and markets for water, biodiversity and, of course, carbon will have to work together.
Developing appropriate markets is seen as a solution to preserve the ecosystems services provided by privately-owned lands, and to offer another approach to industrial CO2 emitters. The federal government will have to find funds and long term incentives to mainstream ecosystems services payments
The first service to be studied will be carbon sequestration – while the trust in the science supporting global warming is declining in the US. Therefore, focus will be made on the CO2 trapping activities and creating "verifiable national standards"[4]. Very much like the carbon issue, the very ecosystem services markets are not questioned – it is rather the development context, and especially the regulatory driver and the market design behind the markets.
But, "for the ecosystem service concept to generate real results, it will have to go beyond valuing ecosystem services to actually contracting for them", says Terry Anderson[5].
[1] United States Department of Agriculture
[2] USDA USDA News release available on http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1RD?printable=true&contentidonly=true&contentid=2008/12/0307.xml
[3] USDA News release available on http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2008/12/0307.xml
[4] http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2009/02/03/new-us-office-takes-fresh-approach-to-carbon/
[5] Terry Anderson, executive director of the Property and Environment Research Center in Bozeman
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