Oregon Group Develops Ecosystem Services Trading System

A group of business, environmental, and government leaders in Oregon has formed the Ecosystem Services Council to support market-based approaches to promote clean air and water, land protection, and habitat restoration. Among the initial members are the Cascadia Region Green Building Council, Ecotrust, and the Nature Conservancy, along with the City of Portland and others. The council hopes to build on existing carbon markets and regulatory markets for things like wetland restoration, which allow developers to offset ecological damage by supporting restoration projects. Trading credits for ecosystem services could be quite complex, as a single project could produce credits for carbon sequestration, water purification, and habitat preservation, for example. According to Kevin Halsey of Parametrix, Inc., a founding member company of the council, an administrative database has been developed to track ecosystem services and credits for several pilot projects in Oregon. After an initial pilot phase, the council hopes to expand its markets nationally. More information is available from info@ecosystemservicescouncil.org.