Paying for Ecosystem Services in Hawaii (Josh Goldstein)
Channel: Ronald Cannarella
Date: 07/06/2012

A presentation at the Hawaii Conservation Conference 2007 by Josh Goldstein, and Gretchen Daily (Stanford University, Palo Alto) on "Paying for Ecosystem Services in Hawai‘i". Around the world, innovative financial instruments are being created to make conservation economically attractive and mainstream. To be successful, these efforts must find creative ways to integrate conservation and economic production practices on private, working lands – lands that are an important complement to public lands in supplying ecosystem services and conserving biodiversity. Drawing upon conditions in Hawai‘i and insights from pioneering conservation payment projects throughout the world, we develop a framework for tiered financial incentives targeting ecosystem services and biodiversity in Hawai‘i. These payments would reward landowners with base payments for undertaking minimum levels of conservation actions, as well as bonus payments linked to specific conservation outcomes to encourage management practices that increase the flow of benefits resulting from land management. We explore how these financial incentives for private landowners could be structured on pasture and forested lands in Hawai‘i to advance restoration efforts, as well as maintain existing areas of high-conservation value.

Hawaii Conservation Alliance
Executive Producer: Ronald Cannarella