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Climate Forests Investments

Taking Stock: Payments for Forest Ecosystem Services in the United States

By D. Evan Mercer, Katherine Hamilton - David Cooley
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This report compiles data on a wide range of PES mechanisms – from government conservation incentive programs, to voluntary markets, to compliance-driven ecosystem service markets such as wetland mitigation credits. According to the report, more than 80% of all forest-based PES money in the US came from non-governmental sources, including payments for wetland mitigation, hunting leases, conservation easements, and carbon offsets. The remaining 20% came from government incentive programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) or Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP). Furthermore, the report states that because of a lack of data for some markets and payment, the $1.9 billion figure is likely a low-end estimate.

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