USA: Obama creates an Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets (OESM)
Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer today announced the intention to
establish a new USDA Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets and the
creation of a federal government-wide Conservation and Land Management
Environmental Services Board to 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. “Our Nation’s farms, ranches and forests provide goods
and services that are vital to society – natural assets we call
“ecosystem services,” said Schafer. “The Office of Ecosystem Services
and Markets will enable America’s agriculture producers to better
compete, trade their services around the world, and make significant
contributions to help improve the environment.”
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. Secretary Shafer intends to name Sally
Collins Director of the Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets
(OESM). Organizationally, OESM will be located within the Office of
the Secretary providing direct access to the Secretary. Collins will
assume this position after serving as Associate Chief of the USDA
Forest Service for the past 8 years, where she pioneered concepts for
ecosystem services and markets as part of that agency’s sustainable
land management mission.
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2008/12/0307.xml
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