Provision of Ecosystem Services Through Market-Based Approaches: Department of Defense Applications
Abstract
Military installations face increasing competition for important natural resources that provide ecosystem services not captured by current economic methods of valuation. Ecosystems naturally assimilate waste, attenuate noise, form soil, control erosion, regulate surface water flow, and buffer installations from surrounding communities. These services mitigate environmental impacts of training, help installations comply with environmental regulations, and ultimately enable the Department of Defense (DoD) to conduct training on installation lands. When undeveloped or rural land is converted to urban uses, valuable ecosystem services are lost. Accounting methods are needed to track the quantity and quality of ecosystem services and to inform decision making such that needed services continue to be available. Market-based approaches can estimate the dollar value of ecosystem services and create financial incentives or markets for their valuation and trade. The DoD has recently begun to use these concepts in its policies and at its installations. This report investigates how to provide ecosystem services through market-based approaches. While there are significant institutional barriers, the authors concluded that market-based approaches can help ensure the continued supply of these services if these problems associated with monetizing ecosystem services, defining ecosystem production functions, and devising incentives can be resolved.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 17, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA479052
Entities
People
- Elizabeth Keysar
- William D. Goran
Organizations
- Engineer Research and Development Center