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Forest Economics and Policy Research in SRS

A Focus on Payments for Ecosystem Services Jeff Prestemon, with assistance from Evan Mercer. Forest Economics and Policy Research in SRS. Forest Economics and Policy: What we do. Forest Disturbance and Management Economics

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Forest Economics and Policy Research in SRS

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  1. A Focus on Payments for Ecosystem Services Jeff Prestemon, with assistance from Evan Mercer Forest Economics and Policy Research in SRS

  2. Forest Economics and Policy:What we do • Forest Disturbance and Management Economics • Economics of natural disturbances—fire, hurricanes, pests, invasives—Holmes, Prestemon, Abt, Mercer • Timber salvage economics—Prestemon, Holmes • Climate change adaptation and mitigation—Holmes, Wear, Prestemon • Forests and crime—Prestemon • Policy and Program Evaluation • Markets for ecosystem services—Mercer • Taxes and forest management—Greene • Policies and programs—Greene, Mercer • Natural Resource Assessment and Forecasting • Markets and trade—Prestemon, Wear, Holmes, Abt • Bioenergy markets—Abt • Regional, national, and international assessments—Wear, Prestemon, Abt, Holmes

  3. Payments for Ecosystem Services • Ecosystem Services: the benefits people obtain from forests • Marketable—e.g., hunting leases, water, carbon credits • Non-marketable—e.g., habitat for non-game animal species, air filtration, esthetics

  4. Why ‘Payments’ for Ecosystem Services? • Most ecosystem services are provided free of charge • Production of ecosystem goods (such as timber or oil) are favored over the conservation of ecosystems and services. • Forest land is undervalued • Without a market and no government or private sector actions, many ecosystem services are under-provided compared to how they are valued. • Markets can be developed • Pay landowners for the services produced. • But who pays?

  5. Potential buyers of ecosystem services include • Drinking water providers • Sewage treatment plants • Developers • Industrial polluters and energy companies • Individual Citizens and Communities • Federal, state and local governments

  6. Recent Efforts in Valuation • 2010 National Report on Sustainable Forests • Indicator 6.27 Revenues from Forest Based Environmental Services (Mercer 2011) http://www.fs.fed.us/research/sustain/ • Taking Stock: Payments for Forest Ecosystem Services in the United States. (Mercer, Cooley and Hamilton 2011) • Ecosystem Marketplace and USDA Forest Service. http://www.forest-rends.org/documents/files/doc_2673.pdf.

  7. Taking Stock: Objectives • Assess state of forest-based PES in the United States • Focus on actual payments to landowners to manage (or reforest) their forestlands to produce ecosystem services

  8. Total PES per Acre of Forest, 2007

  9. Overall Impact • Forest-based PES 2005-2007 • At least $1.9 billion per year • By Source: • Private: 81% • Government Agencies: 19% • By Type • Wetland Mitigation Banking: 38% • 173 landowners • Hunting Leases/fees: 22% • Conservation Easements: 17% • 1.8% of private landowners have them • Carbon Offsets: 0.001%

  10. New Work in Payments • U.S. Forest Service funded grant • Evan Mercer is working with Buck Kline (VA DOF) and Southern Group of State Foresters • Seeks to develop a methodology for producing consistent measures of these payments across states, get this approach broadly adopted • Contact: Evan Mercer, emercer@fs.fed.us, 919-549-4095

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