Browsing by Subject "Conservation finance"
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Item Open Access Conservation in the Human Landscape(2017) Sutton, Alexandra E.The protection of global biodiversity and the conservation of the earth’s natural resources are paramount to future wellbeing of mankind. Humans are a hugely influential part of the global ecosystem, and the ways in which we use, create, and change global biodiversity patterns are as important to understand as the ways in which those patterns function without our interference. Of more specific importance is an understanding of the ways in which human values, behaviors and practices (especially those surrounding leadership, management, and finance) relating to biodiversity management can be helpful or harmful as we attempt to meet our self-determined goals of global conservation.
To that end, the first chapter of this dissertation focuses on the potential influence of leadership and management on outcomes in wildlife reintroduction programs. Wildlife reintroductions and translocations are statistically unlikely to succeed. Nevertheless, they remain a critical part of conservation because they are the only way to actively restore a species into a habitat from which it has been extirpated. Past efforts to improve these practices have attributed the low success rate to failures in the biological knowledge (e.g., ignorance of social behavior, poor release site selection), or to the inherent challenges of reinstating a species into an area where threats have already driven it to local extinction. Such research presumes that the only way to improve reintroduction outcomes is through improved biological knowledge. This emphasis on biological solutions may have caused researchers to overlook the potential influence of other factors on reintroduction outcomes. I employed a grounded theory approach to study the leadership and management of a successful reintroduction program (the Sea Eagle Recovery Project in Scotland, UK) and identify four critical managerial elements that I theorize may have contributed to the successful outcome of this 50-year reintroduction. These elements are:
(i) Leadership & Management: Small, dedicated team of accessible experts who provide strong political and scientific advocacy (“champions”) for the project.
(ii) Hierarchy & Autonomy: Hierarchical management structure that nevertheless permits high individual autonomy.
(iii) Goals & Evaluation: Formalized goal-setting and regular, critical evaluation of the project’s progress toward those goals.
(iv) Adaptive Public Relations: Adaptive outreach campaigns that are open, transparent, inclusive (esp. linguistically), and culturally relevant.
This study represents an initial, but valuable inquiry into the ways in which leadership and management can impact programmatic (and therefore, biodiversity) outcomes.
The second chapter of this dissertation explores the potential relationship between financial mechanisms and outcomes in non-governmental biodiversity conservation programs. Although local laws, trends, and markets forces often shape the specific laws and market conditions under which conservation transactions occur, focusing analysis on the broader mechanisms of transfer may provide new opportunities to identify patterns, improve efficiency, and link transfer mechanisms to conservation outcomes.
Through a series of seven brief, descriptive case studies built around interviews with senior officers at US non-governmental organizations, this chapter seeks to highlight potential linkages between inflows of conservation dollars, financial mechanisms used to transfer them to conservation actors/entities/organizations, and eventual outflows of conservation dollars into measurable outcomes. This chapter also presents a preliminary framework for categorizing mechanisms and predicting their impacts on availability and outflow of conservation dollars. Although the framework fails to predict all outcomes, its failure highlights several emergent themes in the impact of financial mechanism, including:
(i) longer time horizons of funding availability can decrease the value of conservation investments, but increase accountability
(ii) time-bound (or time-limited) funding mechanisms can create uncertainty and decrease investment in program outcomes
(iii) mechanisms granting greater control to donors/investors can decrease the autonomy and adaptability of conservation organizations, and can skew outcomes toward donor biases
We hope that these results are useful as a first step toward the greater consideration of financial mechanisms in conservation planning and financial analysis.
The third chapter of this dissertation applies principles of the first two chapters as part of an in-depth look at one conservation initiative: the Anne K. Taylor Fund’s Boma Fortification Program, taking place in Narok County, Kenya. In the pastoral steppe of East Africa, lions (Panthera leo) kill livestock. The subsequent lethal retaliation by livestock owners has helped reduce lion numbers by more than 80% and driven it from most of its historic range. This conflict is especially intense along the western edge of the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, where some of the densest lion and livestock populations in Africa overlap.
We evaluated the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of implementation for one proposed solution – the Anne K. Taylor Fund’s subsidized construction of fortified, chain-link livestock fences (‘bomas’) – in reducing livestock loss to depredation. We collected 375 predation reports from 308 semi-structured household interviews and predation records. We used these data to study the impact of subsidised boma fortification on the depredation of cattle, sheep and goats. Of 179 fortified bomas, 67% suffered no losses over one year; of 60 unfortified bomas, only 15% had no losses over one year. Furthermore, losses of greater than five animals per year occurred at only 17% of fortified bomas, compared to 57% of unfortified bomas. The overall reduction in losses to predation at fortified bomas equated to savings of more than $1,200 USD per household per year, but with a return on investment of 778%, partially fortified bomas are vastly more cost effective than fully fortified bomas (return on investment = 349%).
However, the broad applicability of the boma fortification approach is uncertain, as its financial structure relies heavily on a single large donor to act as subsidizing entity. This single-supplier approach introduces cost inefficiencies, as well as supply chain vulnerabilities. Future fortification programs should consider alternative decentralized approaches to strengthen supply lines and scale the solution.
These chapters collectively represent a thorough examination of the human dimensions of conservation – and the ways in which leadership, management, finance, and valuation can contribute to harmful or helpful outcomes in the effort to preserve global biodiversity.
Item Open Access Distribution of Natural Capital Financing in Markets(2024-04-26) Zepecki, Caroline; Go, Li Jia; Graybill, BryanNatural capital finance is an emerging space wherein natural resources are conceptualized as assets that contribute to economic productivity through the provision of ecosystem services. Natural capital, also referred to as natural assets, stocks fall into four main categories: (1) Agriculture, (2) Biodiversity, (3) Fisheries & Aquaculture, and (4) Ecosystems & Forests including soil, minerals, and animals, and significantly impact the sustainability and economic well-being of businesses and nations. It is essential to understand the role that natural capital stocks play in providing various necessary ecosystem services, which in turn reduce climate change-related investment risks. Additionally, building investment and conservation cases around the existence value of natural capital by measuring ecosystem services provides a mechanism to drive investment into ecosystem restoration and conservation. This project is an exploration of various ecosystem services, methods for quantifying their value in target ecosystem types, and investment frameworks for natural capital as an asset class. We conducted this project in collaboration with Ortec Finance, a leading global provider of technology and solutions for risk and return management, to better understand the value of natural capital and the potential for reducing climate change-related risks through the implementation of conservation and restoration projects. Our team's objective was to contribute to Ortec’s knowledge base of how various natural capital stock types influence global economic activity, considering ecosystem service quantification, climate-related risks to ecosystem service provision, and any corresponding investment risks. Chapter 1 provided a first-pass valuation of the carbon sequestration potential of terrestrial forests in South Carolina, with the results highlighting the feasibility of using open-source models and data to assess the environmental and economic value of terrestrial forest ecosystems, presenting a proof of concept for potential future applications in the client’s target regions. Chapter 2 highlights the critical ecosystem services provided by mangroves, such as coastal flood protection and corresponding asset protection, categorizes various climate-related risks and environmental thresholds impacting mangrove populations, and examines investment frameworks for mangrove natural capital investment. Chapter 3 highlights the value created by the agricultural sector in Brazil, how the agricultural expansion is destroying globally significant natural capital underpinning regional climate regulation and ecosystem services that enable agricultural productivity in the region, identifies countries and actors relevant to the client’s interests driving deforestation through agricultural demand, discusses the risks and costs associated with the collapse of these ecosystem services, and the potential costs of mitigating these risks. All chapters investigate quantification methodologies for a specific ecosystem service, and how that can be used to assign value to specific natural capital stocks. This analysis provides a proof of concept for natural capital stock valuations based on a single ecosystem service— a complete stock valuation, encompassing all ecosystem services provided at a site, is necessary for investors looking to leverage quantifiable “returns” from proper stock management. Key findings- • As natural capital develops and matures as an asset class, frameworks to comprehensively quantify stock values should encompass all ecosystem services provided to avoid “cheapening” nature by oversimplifying valuation methods. • For natural capital asset managers, purchasing stocks of depleted terrestrial forest/mangrove forest/farmland presents a vast opportunity to generate stable, meaningful returns by improving natural resource management practices to maximize ecosystem service outputs. • For each ecosystem type outlined, the ecosystem service valuation framework can be used to justify conservation and restoration measures. • The most appropriate investment mechanisms will vary between natural capital types, depending on the stakeholders who rely most on specific ecosystem services. • Beyond just natural capital asset management, insurance instruments designed for ecosystems, impact investment, and nature-based Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) companies all have a role to play in the growing global conservation finance landscape. Furthermore, this project holds significant relevance to Ortec, as each chapter systematically outlines potential climate risks that threaten the prosperity of the ecosystems discussed. It is crucial to comprehend how ecosystem services, rendered by various forms of natural capital, might fluctuate in the forthcoming decades as climate change impacts intensify. For businesses whose supply chains depend on the ecosystem services provided by the highlighted ecosystem types, grasping the potential variations in ecosystem service provision—and understanding how these changes might influence operational risks—is imperative. This work is highly pertinent in the wake of the release of the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, put forth by the UN Environment Programme in late 2023, which introduces a framework to “assess, disclose, and manage nature-related risks and impacts by businesses and financial institutions worldwide” (UNEP FI). Nature risk is investment risk; understanding the breadth and magnitude of socioeconomic contributions from ecosystem service contributions is integral to responsible investment management.Item Open Access From Military Base to Regional Park - Evaluation of Land Use Planning and Financing Strategies for a New Regional Park in the San Francisco Bay Area(2012-04-26) Holt, BrianThe San Francisco Bay Area played a central support role in the efforts of the United States military during World War II with military facilities providing a coastal fortress, shipbuilding center, and shipping gateway to the Pacific. Beginning in the late 1980’s, many of the region’s military facilities have closed with local governments re-envisioning new neighborhoods, restored habitats, and community facilities on the properties. Two decades after the first round of the Base Realignment and Closure process, however, many former military facilities remain undeveloped with planning visions yet to be realized. The latest military facility to close in the region is the Concord Naval Weapons Station. Located approximately 30 miles from San Francisco in the suburban east bay community of Concord, the Concord Naval Weapons Station consists of over 5,000 acres of abandoned munitions bunkers, rolling hills, and vast grasslands being planned for reuse. Led by the City of Concord, a Reuse Plan was adopted that balanced development with open space protection calling for over 13,000 new homes, extensive commercial development, and an array of community facilities occupying less than a half of the property. The remaining property is slated to become a new regional park to be managed by the East Bay Regional Park District. This Masters Project evaluates the opportunities and constraints of the future regional park property to develop a conceptual land use plan and identifies the potential financing tools that can be applied. Additionally, it looks at the threats, opportunities, weaknesses, and strengths of the East Bay Regional Park District, its potential partners and stakeholders, and the land itself to craft recommendations that will ensure community and environmental benefits are realized in a timely fashion.Item Open Access State-level incentives for promoting private land conservation in North Carolina(2012-04-26) Selbst, ElizabethPrivate land conservation confers a number of public benefits, including ecosystem services, access to recreation, and protection of natural and cultural heritage elements. North Carolina’s population is expected to grow by more than 30% by 2030, creating new urgency for conservation priorities such as watershed and open space protection around the state’s growing population centers. State budget cuts resulted in historically low levels of public grant funding for nonprofit land conservation in FY 2011-2012. However, depressed land markets represent a significant window of opportunity for land trusts to acquire and protect ecologically significant properties from development. Federal, state, and local governments employ a variety of incentive programs to encourage private citizens to donate real property to nonprofit land trusts. Following Eugene Bardach’s method for qualitative policy analysis, I use four criteria - (1) strengthening partnerships between DENR and nonprofit conservation organizations, (2) minimizing costs to state agencies, (3) supporting the state’s long-term economic development goals, and (4) protecting DENR’s authority to oversee future conservation initiatives - to evaluate seven options for increasing private conservation in FY 2012-2103 in North Carolina: (a) property tax rebates, (b) reducing present use valuation tax penalties, (c) transferable state income tax credits, (d) increasing the corporate income tax deduction, (e) increased appropriations for state trust funds, (f) municipal revenue streams for conservation projects, and (g) a voluntary conservation offset program for housing developers. In order to promote private land conservation in FY 2012-2013, I recommend that the North Carolina General Assembly remove the tax penalty for lands switched from present use valuation categories to dedicated conservation programs, encourage municipalities to develop alternative revenue schemes for funding conservation, and create a statewide voluntary conservation offset program for developers.Item Open Access State-level incentives for promoting private land conservation in North Carolina(2012-04-26) Selbst, ElizabethPrivate land conservation confers a number of public benefits, including ecosystem services, access to recreation, and protection of natural and cultural heritage elements. North Carolina’s population is expected to grow by more than 30% by 2030, creating new urgency for conservation priorities such as watershed and open space protection around the state’s growing population centers. State budget cuts resulted in historically low levels of public grant funding for nonprofit land conservation in FY 2011-2012. However, depressed land markets represent a significant window of opportunity for land trusts to acquire and protect ecologically significant properties from development. Federal, state, and local governments employ a variety of incentive programs to encourage private citizens to donate real property to nonprofit land trusts. Following Eugene Bardach’s method for qualitative policy analysis, I use four criteria - (1) strengthening partnerships between DENR and nonprofit conservation organizations, (2) minimizing costs to state agencies, (3) supporting the state’s long-term economic development goals, and (4) protecting DENR’s authority to oversee future conservation initiatives - to evaluate seven options for increasing private conservation in FY 2012-2103 in North Carolina: (a) property tax rebates, (b) reducing present use valuation tax penalties, (c) transferable state income tax credits, (d) increasing the corporate income tax deduction, (e) increased appropriations for state trust funds, (f) municipal revenue streams for conservation projects, and (g) a voluntary conservation offset program for housing developers. In order to promote private land conservation in FY 2012-2013, I recommend that the North Carolina General Assembly remove the tax penalty for lands switched from present use valuation categories to dedicated conservation programs, encourage municipalities to develop alternative revenue schemes for funding conservation, and create a statewide voluntary conservation offset program for developers.Item Open Access Surfonomics Nosara: Surf Tourists' Potential to Contribute to Environmental Protection(2023-04-28) Dixon, NatalieMaintaining healthy ecosystems often requires monetary resources, in developed and developing countries alike. These resources can, in part, come from businesses and activities that benefit from the ecosystems being maintained. For example, millions of surfers each year travel to beaches far from their homes in pursuit of the perfect wave (Mach and Ponting, 2020). Through expenditures on accommodations, food and activities, these surf tourists often provide some level of monetary benefit to the towns adjacent to the beach that is home to the wave they are chasing. However, the consumer surplus benefit that surfers enjoy from surfing itself is primarily unrealized and is not financially contributing to the preservation and conservation of the natural resources upon which these tourists depend. There are an abundance of studies trying to capture the surplus economic benefit of other ocean-related activities, such as fishing, diving, and beach-going, with little attention being paid to the economic benefit that surfers and surf tourists could provide (Nelson, 2007). Since surfing has grown “to become, after swimming, the most popular water sport in the world,” it is important to attempt to determine the economic benefit that surfers provide and how this might be leveraged to conserve integral ecosystems (Young, 1983). The concept of “surfonomics,” the combination of surfing and economics, aims to determine the economic benefit that surfing brings to coastal communities. The goal of surfonomics is to use surfing as a conservation tool through both accounting for the economic benefit of surfing, while also appealing to the millions of surfers around the world. The site for this study, Playa Guiones, is in the town of Nosara in the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica, along the Nicoya Peninsula on the west coast of the country. Nosara originally became popularized because of the plethora of yoga and wellness retreats that used Nosara as their destination. Further, Playa Guiones is a world class surfing destination, known for having some of the most consistently breaking waves in the world, accessible to all levels of surfers (Francis, 2021). Nosara is the largest of the five Blue Zones in the world (Johnson). A Blue Zone is an area of the world where people, on average, live the longest and are the healthiest (History of Blue Zones, 2021). On top of the benefits from the yoga/ wellness and surfing communities, its designation as a Blue Zone has created a hyper-attractive destination for both tourists and expatriates. This increase in notoriety and tourism has come with a 42% increase in the level of development from 2017-2018 alone (Nosara Civic Association). The environmental effects of this increase in development are being seen through the salinization in aquifers in Nosara due to the large amount of water that the new construction requires (Nosara Civic Association). The goal of this study is to determine if surf tourists can provide economic resources sufficient to protect the surf ecosystem at Playa Guiones in Nosara, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The study sought to answer this question through 1) conducting a survey analysis to determine each surfer’s willingness to pay a beach entrance fee in the low season (May-Dec) and 2) calculating the conservation finance gap in Playa Guiones and determining how many surf tourists would need to pay a fee each year in order to close it. The specific methods used to achieve the study goal were as follows: 1) Designing a survey and surveying surf tourists along Playa Guiones from June- August of 2022. 2) Conducting analysis using regression models to determine which environmental attributes were most important to surf tourists. 3) Obtaining conservation finance data from the Ostional Wildlife Refuge to determine if surf tourists would be able to provide money sufficient to close the conservation finance gap that exists along Playa Guiones. The results from this study show that the two most important environmental attributes to surf tourists are high levels of beach cleanliness and low levels of new development in Playa Guiones. Further, the study shows that closing the conservation finance gap along Playa Guiones with the introduction of a $7 daily beach entrance fee is feasible.