Crediting Uncertain Ecosystem Services from Working Landscapes: Balancing Program Integrity and Cost-effectiveness
Michael Springborn
from ARE Update Vol. 17, No. 4, Mar/Apr, 2014
Abstract
The use of market-based instruments is expanding beyond traditional pollutants to include incentivizing voluntary ecosystem service provision from working landscapes, such as agriculture and forestry. These services are estimated with much greater uncertainty than traditional point source pollutants. Using protocols for greenhouse gas offsets in California as an example, I discuss the use of discounting ecosystem services to ensure program integrity and highlight tradeoffs between achieving reported service provision with high confidence and program cost-effectiveness.
Keywords
Greenhouse gas offsets, market-based instruments, risk, confidence deduction
Citation
Michael Springborn. 2014. "Crediting Uncertain Ecosystem Services from Working Landscapes: Balancing Program Integrity and Cost-effectiveness." ARE Update 17(4): 9-11. University of California Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics.
https://giannini.ucop.edu/filer/file/1453327769/16933/