Every two years, leaders in the study and practice of ecosystem services and environmental markets meet at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) “A Community on Ecosystem Services” (ACES) Conference to link science, practice and sustainable decision-making.
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Jason Weller was one of several government leaders who spoke at the ACES conference to discuss how USDA incorporates ecosystem services and market-based approaches into its conservation mission.
Weller highlighted three priorities for NRCS:
1. Support and harness market mechanisms to stimulate private investment in conservation. NRCS has been a federal leader in supporting water quality and greenhouse gas trading markets for a decade through its Conservation Innovation Grants program.
2. Leverage private capital to complement NRCS’ public investments. Weller noted that, “It’s no accident that financial entities and institutional investors are interested in conservation finance and green infrastructure. Let’s find ways to help investors generate returns and simultaneously generate ecosystem service returns for landowners and environmental quality.”
3. Harness the power of consumers. “With education and proper signals, I think there’s a way you can engage consumers to buy conservation,” Weller said. NRCS is engaging with groups like Field-to-Market to explore how to make buying natural resource conservation a reality for the American public.
Read more about the other USDA leaders who spoke at ACES.