Conservation Economics

Defenders' Conservation Economics Program focuses on

  • objective and transparent economic analysis of the benefits and costs of biodiversity conservation
  • design of economic incentives for wildlife conservation

Economic analyses contribute to policy formulation and the promotion of public and private incentives for landowners to conserve biodiversity.

Defenders' Conservation Economics Program is committed to

  • designing conservation programs that connect valuation information to incentive levels
  • providing assistance to structuring ecosystem service markets that maintain biodiversity values
  • advancing the use of well-designed ecosystem service markets and payments to achieve conservation objectives

Revealing the True Value of the Mojave Desert

Learn more about the economic values of the ecologically and culturally rich California desert lands. This 32-page report and the accompanying case study detail the economic value of conserved desert lands, highlighting their value to a variety of stakeholders from the military to tourism operators.

Learn more about the economic value of the Mojave Desert.

An Assessment of Market-based Approaches to Providing Ecosystem Services on Agricultural Lands

Cover of Market-based Approaches ArticleEcosystem markets and payments increasingly are seen as promising approaches that can improve land conservation in both quality and scale. Well-designed ecosystem service markets and payments can help landowners capture the economic value of the benefits their lands provide to society. Ecosystem markets and payments thus can generate financial incentives for conservation on the part of landowners and others. In a December 2007 article, Defenders of Wildlife’s economists examine the different forms these markets and payments can take, and critically assess their potential to achieve conservation objectives in different contexts.
Read the article.
(Provided courtesy of Elsevier: www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09218009)

 

Economic Valuation
Identify and estimate economic values associated with biodiversity and habitat conservation
Economic Incentives
Public and private economic incentives can encourage private landowners to restore and conserve biodiversity and wildlife habitat.
Conservation Finance
Defenders contributes to current discussions on the status of public and private financing requirements and sources for the conservation of wildlife habitat on a national scale.
Performance Indicators and Policies
Defenders evaluates and makes recommendations with respect to developing physical and economic indicators for evaluating the outcomes of conservation programs and incentive mechanisms.