Defenders' Experts
Habitat-Biodiversity Metric for Ecosystem Services
The challenge:
Defenders of Wildlife and the Willamette Partnership have received a planning grant from the Bullitt Foundation to develop a full proposal and action plan to produce a fish and wildlife habitat/biodiversity metric for use in ecosystem service markets and programs that offer payments for ecosystem services. The project will involve:
- Reviewing habitat/biodiversity metrics that are currently in use;
- Assessing their utility;
- Determining which organizations and agencies should be involved in the development of the metric.
The goal: To develop a standard
The long term goal is for the proposed framework to be accepted and applied across the United States as a standard approach to measuring habitat quantity and quality within ecosystem service markets.
The Habitat Metric
Based on the work that has already been done on developing habitat metrics, the following outline will be a starting point for the framework. These attributes will be measurable, can be adjusted for various habitat types and form the elements of a single habitat metric.
1. Site Description. This section of the evaluation will focus on specific plants and animals that are chosen to be indicators for a particular vegetation type or ecosystem. A set of indicator species will be developed initially by project ecologists, to be modified as necessary and desired by local experts.
2. Key Ecological Processes. Where relevant, processes necessary to maintain a site over the long term will be considered. Examples include fire, flooding and potential impacts of climate change.
3. Site Quality. An assessment will be made as to the current condition of the site, along with its potential to be ecologically viable with restoration. Evaluation criteria would include presence of invasive species, toxic substances, buildings/structures, etc. Read more about site selection.
4. Ecological and Social Context. Evaluators would consider the size of the site, its location relative to conservation priorities, connectivity, surrounding lands and other contextual features likely to affect the long-term viability of a project.
5. Management Security. A site needs to be evaluated for issues surrounding management security including property ownership, management agreements, and duration of commitment to long-term maintenance of habitat values.
6. Expedited Credit Generation with Approved Practices. Certain conservation practices may produce clear enough ecological benefits to justify payments for implementing the practices without extensive site survey work. Ongoing monitoring can validate assumptions about efficacy and trigger modifications in the practices where necessary.
Read more:
The Marketplace for Nature, initiated by Defenders of Wildlife and managed by a consortium of public and private organizations to demonstrate how a voluntary multi-credit ecosystem marketplace will work.
Marketplace for Nature goals include ecological effectiveness, addressing multiple values, rewards for strategic investment and others.
How does the Marketplace for Nature select a project site?
What is bundling and stacking and how does it help landowners?
Partners working together to develop rigorous standards for the Marketplace for Nature. See who's involved.
