The study describes existing federal policies that permit or promote ecosystem services analysis, management, investments, and markets. Our survey discusses: 1) current programs that stimulate or support the measurement of ecosystem services; 2) existing federal drivers of ecosystem services...

This paper reviews the economic justification for voluntary environmental programs to derive defensible measures of their positive social outcomes. We consider ideal experimental and statistical designs to detect and attribute benefits. We also explore a set of more practical approaches to...

This paper describes specific ways in which the analysis of ecosystem goods and services can be included in terrestrial carbon sequestration assessments and planning. It specifically reviews the U.S. Geological Survey’s LandCarbon assessment methodology for ecosystem services. The report...

Green gross domestic product (green GDP) is meant to account for nature's value on an equal footing with the market economy. Several problems bedevil green GDP, however. One is that nature does not come prepackaged in units like cars, houses, and bread. Even worse, green GDP requires measurement...

The paper addresses the definition and measurement of liability for marine oil pollution accidents. The economic value of lost or injured ecosystem goods and services is argued to be the most legally, economically, and ecologically defensible measure of damages. This is easier said than done,...

Conservation investments are increasingly evaluated on the basis of their return on investment (ROI). Conservation ROI analysis quantitatively measures the costs, benefits, and risks of investments so conservancies can rank or prioritize them. This paper surveys the existing conservation ROI and...

Conservation investments are increasingly evaluated on the basis of their return on investment (ROI). Conservation ROI analysis quantitatively measures the costs, benefits, and risks of investments so conservancies can rank or prioritize them. This paper includes case studies — of three...

This document reports on a March 2015 dialogue among businesses, NGOs, and federal and state conservation agencies focused on Endangered Species Act listing decisions and programs in the southeastern United States. Over the next decade, a large fraction of the nation’s species listing...

The federal government controls 700 million acres of subsurface rights (plus 56 million subsurface acres of Indian mineral estate) across 24 states, making it the largest landowner in the nation, and therefore in a position to negotiate lease terms and shape regulations of oil and gas...

Unconventional oil and gas production using hydraulic fracturing generates significant quantities of wastewater that may contain potentially harmful pollutants. The concerns associated with shale gas development necessitate an investigation of shale gas water and wastewater management using a...