Ecosystem Marketplace Announces New Face-to-Face Format, Presents Debate on Conservation Easements

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Ecosystem Marketplace Announces New Face-to-Face Format,

Presents Debate on Conservation Easements

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Ecosystem Marketplace Announces New Face-to-Face Format,

Presents Debate on Conservation Easements

WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Aug. 31 -/E-Wire/-- As US Congress debates the explosive growth of conservation easements and their related financial markets, the Ecosystem Marketplace â the world's premier online source of information on ecosystem services markets â today launched a new global discussion about conservation on private land.

"Conservation easements represent a growing form of payment for ecosystem services in the United States and are beginning to be used around the world," said Ricardo Bayon, Managing Editor of the Ecosystem Marketplace. "As Congress is now debating the strengths and weaknesses of their use, we felt it was time to offer an unbiased, comprehensive look at the use and misuse of conservation easements. We believe that the debate on easements currently taking place in the US will not only help determine the face of conservation in that country, but that it could also be a harbinger of things to come for conservation around the world."

Part of the surge in conservation easements is due to the related emerging market in transferable tax credits. Both Colorado and Virginia passed legislation in 2002 to create a secondary market in tax credits, allowing easement donors to sell unused tax credits for cash. In just two years, the estimated property value placed under easements in Virginia jumped from $22.3 million to $187.3 million. And the Colorado Tax Credit Exchange jumped from $700,000 in trades in 2001 to $16.5 million in 2004.

Today, Ecosystem Marketplace launches Face-to-Face series with easement discussion:

* John D. Echeverria, the Executive Director of the Georgetown Environmental Law & Policy Institute, tells the Ecosystem Marketplace why he thinks conservation easements are an ineffective means of preserving open space.

* Nancy A. McLaughlin, a Law Professor at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, tells the Ecosystem Marketplace why she thinks conservation easements can be an effective means of pursuing conservation goals.

Established in 2004, the Ecosystem Marketplace provides the first transparent source of information on emerging ecosystem markets including comprehensive news, regulatory information, market analysis and price tracking for users throughout the world. The Ecosystem Marketplace harvests the knowledge and ingenuity of over 150 worldwide business and environmental experts and can be found at www.ecosystemmarketplace.com.

The Face-to-Face series will look at a number of hot issues in the field of ecosystem services markets in the months ahead, providing unbiased information for experts and lay audiences, alike.

Ann Brown: [REDACTED-EMAIL], [REDACTED-PHONE]

http://ecosystemmarketplace.com

http://forest-trends.com

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