Ecosystem Services
Good land management yields more than just apples and 2x4s. It also contributes valuable public services, like carbon storage, water quality protection, and habitat for fish. Markets for these ecosystem services can offer important incentives for land management practices that serve the public interest.
Ecotrust has been a leader in the development and creation of ecosystem service markets in the Pacific Northwest.
- We partnered with international nonprofits The Katoomba Group and Forest Trends to bring experts from around the world to the 2006 Portland Katoomba conference;
- We joined the discussions of the Western Climate Initiative’s Washington and Oregon Forest Carbon Working Groups to advocate for incentives that serve good land management;
- We launched Ecotrust Forest Management, Inc. to serve as a catalyst for the adoption of ecosystem markets — and ultimately improved forest management — across the Pacific Northwest; and
- We provide a unique package of spatial modeling, economic analysis, and market expertise for public, private, and tribal land managers.
Background
A healthy forest on the Pacific Northwest landscape depends on the existence of a robust forest products industry. Without thinning and harvesting, managed forests — the vast majority of the region’s forestlands — can become overly dense and susceptible to insects and fire.
The dilemma is that while forests provide a wide range of environmental products and services, forest landowners are largely able to earn money for only one product: timber. As a result, industrial forestland owners seek to maximize timber revenues, and the provision of public goods is ensured only through regulations.
New markets for ecosystem services, such as the carbon market emerging under the Western Climate Initiative, provide an opportunity to change the debate around forest management in the Pacific Northwest. At the same time, the region’s long-lived, carbon-rich forests can play an important role in offsetting greenhouse gas emissions. Ecotrust seeks to help shape the development of these markets to enhance productive restoration of the region’s lands and waters, for the long-term benefit of the region’s residents.
