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Payment For Ecosystem Services: Incentives To Support Environmental Quality & Farming In Vermont, Stephen Posner, Taylor Ricketts, Eric Roy
Payment For Ecosystem Services: Incentives To Support Environmental Quality & Farming In Vermont, Stephen Posner, Taylor Ricketts, Eric Roy
Reports and Policy Briefs
Environmental quality is an ongoing concern in the Lake Champlain Basin. Vermont farmers are in a unique position to manage land in a way that maintains and improves environmental quality. A payment for ecosystem services (PES) program for Vermont would both support the economic vi- ability of Vermont farms and incentivize farmers to improve water quality and soil health. How- ever, conceptual and practical implementation challenges remain.
Loving The Mess: Navigating Diversity And Conflict In Social Values For Sustainability, Jasper O. Kenter, Christopher M. Raymond, Carena J. Van Riper, Elaine Azzopardi, Michelle R. Brear, Fulvia Calcagni, Ian Christie, Michael Christie, Anne Fordham, Rachelle K. Gould, Christopher D. Ives, Adam P. Hejnowicz, Richard Gunton, Andra Ioana Horcea-Milcu, Dave Kendal, Jakub Kronenberg, Julian R. Massenberg, Seb O’Connor, Neil Ravenscroft, Andrea Rawluk, Ivan J. Raymond, Jorge Rodríguez-Morales, Samarthia Thankappan
Loving The Mess: Navigating Diversity And Conflict In Social Values For Sustainability, Jasper O. Kenter, Christopher M. Raymond, Carena J. Van Riper, Elaine Azzopardi, Michelle R. Brear, Fulvia Calcagni, Ian Christie, Michael Christie, Anne Fordham, Rachelle K. Gould, Christopher D. Ives, Adam P. Hejnowicz, Richard Gunton, Andra Ioana Horcea-Milcu, Dave Kendal, Jakub Kronenberg, Julian R. Massenberg, Seb O’Connor, Neil Ravenscroft, Andrea Rawluk, Ivan J. Raymond, Jorge Rodríguez-Morales, Samarthia Thankappan
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications
This paper concludes a special feature of Sustainability Science that explores a broad range of social value theoretical traditions, such as religious studies, social psychology, indigenous knowledge, economics, sociology, and philosophy. We introduce a novel transdisciplinary conceptual framework that revolves around concepts of ‘lenses’ and ‘tensions’ to help navigate value diversity. First, we consider the notion of lenses: perspectives on value and valuation along diverse dimensions that describe what values focus on, how their sociality is envisioned, and what epistemic and procedural assumptions are made. We characterise fourteen of such dimensions. This provides a foundation for exploration of seven areas …
Effects Of Human Demand On Conservation Planning For Biodiversity And Ecosystem Services, Keri B. Watson, Gillian L. Galford, Laura J. Sonter, Insu Koh, Taylor H. Ricketts
Effects Of Human Demand On Conservation Planning For Biodiversity And Ecosystem Services, Keri B. Watson, Gillian L. Galford, Laura J. Sonter, Insu Koh, Taylor H. Ricketts
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications
Safeguarding ecosystem services and biodiversity is critical to achieving sustainable development. To date, ecosystem services quantification has focused on the biophysical supply of services with less emphasis on human beneficiaries (i.e., demand). Only when both occur do ecosystems benefit people, but demand may shift ecosystem service priorities toward human-dominated landscapes that support less biodiversity. We quantified how accounting for demand affects the efficiency of conservation in capturing both human benefits and biodiversity by comparing conservation priorities identified with and without accounting for demand. We mapped supply and benefit for 3 ecosystem services (flood mitigation, crop pollination, and nature-based recreation) by …
Optimizing Wetland Restoration To Improve Water Quality At A Regional Scale, Nitin K. Singh, Jesse D. Gourevitch, Beverley C. Wemple, Keri B. Watson, Donna M. Rizzo, Stephen Polasky, Taylor H. Ricketts
Optimizing Wetland Restoration To Improve Water Quality At A Regional Scale, Nitin K. Singh, Jesse D. Gourevitch, Beverley C. Wemple, Keri B. Watson, Donna M. Rizzo, Stephen Polasky, Taylor H. Ricketts
College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Publications
Published by IOP Publishing Ltd. Excessive phosphorus (P) export to aquatic ecosystems can lead to impaired water quality. There is a growing interest among watershed managers in using restored wetlands to retain P from agricultural landscapes and improve water quality. We develop a novel framework for prioritizing wetland restoration at a regional scale. The framework uses an ecosystem service model and an optimization algorithm that maximizes P reduction for given levels of restoration cost. Applying our framework in the Lake Champlain Basin, we find that wetland restoration can reduce P export by 2.6% for a budget of $50 M and …
Optimizing Wetland Restoration To Improve Water Quality At A Regional Scale, Nitin K. Singh, Jesse D. Gourevitch, Beverley C. Wemple, Keri B. Watson, Donna M. Rizzo, Stephen Polasky, Taylor H. Ricketts
Optimizing Wetland Restoration To Improve Water Quality At A Regional Scale, Nitin K. Singh, Jesse D. Gourevitch, Beverley C. Wemple, Keri B. Watson, Donna M. Rizzo, Stephen Polasky, Taylor H. Ricketts
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications
Excessive phosphorus (P) export to aquatic ecosystems can lead to impaired water quality. There is a growing interest among watershed managers in using restored wetlands to retain P from agricultural landscapes and improve water quality. We develop a novel framework for prioritizing wetland restoration at a regional scale. The framework uses an ecosystem service model and an optimization algorithm that maximizes P reduction for given levels of restoration cost. Applying our framework in the Lake Champlain Basin, we find that wetland restoration can reduce P export by 2.6% for a budget of $50 M and 5.1% for a budget of …
Mountain Forests And Sustainable Development: The Potential For Achieving The United Nations' 2030 Agenda, Georg Gratzer, William S. Keeton
Mountain Forests And Sustainable Development: The Potential For Achieving The United Nations' 2030 Agenda, Georg Gratzer, William S. Keeton
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications
The world is facing numerous and severe environmental, social, and economic challenges. To address these, in September 2015 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the resolution Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The United Nations' 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and their 169 targets are ambitious, broadly encompassing, and indivisible. They are intended to guide nations and communities toward attaining healthy and peaceful livelihoods free of poverty and hunger. Collectively the goals envision sound and safe environments, where global threats like climate change are successfully combated through both mitigation and adaptation. Agenda 2030 envisages sustainable …
When, Where, And How Nature Matters For Ecosystem Services: Challenges For The Next Generation Of Ecosystem Service Models, Jesse T. Rieb, Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer, Gretchen C. Daily, Paul R. Armsworth, Katrin Böhning-Gaese, Aletta Bonn, Graeme S. Cumming, Felix Eigenbrod, Volker Grimm
When, Where, And How Nature Matters For Ecosystem Services: Challenges For The Next Generation Of Ecosystem Service Models, Jesse T. Rieb, Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer, Gretchen C. Daily, Paul R. Armsworth, Katrin Böhning-Gaese, Aletta Bonn, Graeme S. Cumming, Felix Eigenbrod, Volker Grimm
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications
Many decision-makers are looking to science to clarify how nature supports human well-being. Scientists' responses have typically focused on empirical models of the provision of ecosystem services (ES) and resulting decision-support tools. Although such tools have captured some of the complexities of ES, they can be difficult to adapt to new situations. Globally useful tools that predict the provision of multiple ES under different decision scenarios have proven challenging to develop. Questions from decision-makers and limitations of existing decision-support tools indicate three crucial research frontiers for incorporating cutting-edge ES science into decision-support tools: (1) understanding the complex dynamics of ES …
Harnessing Local Strength For Sustainable Coffee Value Chains In India And Nicaragua: Reevaluating Certification To Global Sustainability Standards, Dagmar Mithöfer, V. Ernesto Méndez, Arshiya Bose, Philippe Vaast
Harnessing Local Strength For Sustainable Coffee Value Chains In India And Nicaragua: Reevaluating Certification To Global Sustainability Standards, Dagmar Mithöfer, V. Ernesto Méndez, Arshiya Bose, Philippe Vaast
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications
Coffee is generally grown in areas derived from forest, and both its expansion and management cause biodiversity loss. Sustainability standards in coffee are well established but have been criticized while social and environmental impact is elusive. This paper assesses the issue-attention cycle of coffee production in India and Nicaragua, including producer concerns and responses over time to concerns (sustainability standards, public regulations and development projects). Systematic comparison of the socioeconomic, environmental and policy context in both countries is then used to explore potential effects of sustainability standards. Results show limits, in local context, to relevance of global certification approaches: in …
New Perspectives In Ecosystem Services Science As Instruments To Understand Environmental Securities, Ferdinando Villa, Brian Voigt, Jon D. Erickson
New Perspectives In Ecosystem Services Science As Instruments To Understand Environmental Securities, Ferdinando Villa, Brian Voigt, Jon D. Erickson
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications
As societal demand for food, water and other life-sustaining resources grows, the science of ecosystem services (ES) is seen as a promising tool to improve our understanding, and ultimately the management, of increasingly uncertain supplies of critical goods provided or supported by natural ecosystems. This promise, however, is tempered by a relatively primitive understanding of the complex systems supporting ES, which as a result are often quantified as static resources rather than as the dynamic expression of human-natural systems. This article attempts to pinpoint the minimum level of detail that ES science needs to achieve in order to usefully inform …
Shade Coffee: Update On A Disappearing Refuge For Biodiversity, Shalene Jha, Christopher M. Bacon, Stacy M. Philpott, V. Ernesto Méndez, Peter Läderach, Robert A. Rice
Shade Coffee: Update On A Disappearing Refuge For Biodiversity, Shalene Jha, Christopher M. Bacon, Stacy M. Philpott, V. Ernesto Méndez, Peter Läderach, Robert A. Rice
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications
In the past three decades, coffee cultivation has gained widespread attention for its crucial role in supporting local and global biodiversity. In this synthetic Overview, we present newly gathered data that summarize how global patterns in coffee distribution and shade vegetation have changed and discuss implications for biodiversity, ecosystem services, and livelihoods. Although overall cultivated coffee area has decreased by 8% since 1990, coffee production and agricultural intensification have increased in many places and shifted globally, with production expanding in Asia while contracting in Africa. Ecosystem services such as pollination, pest control, climate regulation, and nutrient sequestration are generally greater …
Payments For Ecosystem Services And The Fatal Attraction Of Win-Win Solutions, R. Muradian, M. Arsel, L. Pellegrini, F. Adaman, B. Aguilar, B. Agarwal, E. Corbera, D. Ezzine De Blas, J. Farley, G. Froger, E. Garcia-Frapolli, E. Gómez-Baggethun, J. Gowdy
Payments For Ecosystem Services And The Fatal Attraction Of Win-Win Solutions, R. Muradian, M. Arsel, L. Pellegrini, F. Adaman, B. Aguilar, B. Agarwal, E. Corbera, D. Ezzine De Blas, J. Farley, G. Froger, E. Garcia-Frapolli, E. Gómez-Baggethun, J. Gowdy
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications
In this commentary we critically discuss the suitability of payments for ecosystem services and the most important challenges they face. While such instruments can play a role in improving environmental governance, we argue that over-reliance on payments as win-win solutions might lead to ineffective outcomes, similar to earlier experience with integrated conservation and development projects. Our objective is to raise awareness, particularly among policy makers and practitioners, about the limitations of such instruments and to encourage a dialogue about the policy contexts in which they might be appropriate. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Scientific Instruments For Climate Change Adaptation: Estimating And Optimizing The Efficiency Of Ecosystem Service Provision, Ferdinando Villa, Ken Bagstad, Gary Johnson, Brian Voigt
Scientific Instruments For Climate Change Adaptation: Estimating And Optimizing The Efficiency Of Ecosystem Service Provision, Ferdinando Villa, Ken Bagstad, Gary Johnson, Brian Voigt
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications
Adaptation to the consequences of climate change can depend on efficient use of ecosystem services (ES), i.e. a better use of natural services through management of the way in which they are delivered to society. While much discussion focuses on reducing consumption and increasing production of services, a lack of scientific instruments has so far prevented other mechanisms to improve ecosystem services efficiency from being addressed systematically as an adaptation strategy. This paper describes new methodologies for assessing ecosystem services and quantifying their values to humans, highlighting the role of ecosystem service flow analysis in optimizing the efficiency of ES …