, provides an introduction to the ocean’s ecosystem services and the evolving schemes for identifying their value and bringing this value into our modern economy.
Part Two, The “New” Ecotourism, examines the role that environmental finance can play in ensuring the viability of living ecosystems by persuading mainstream tourism providers to pay for the natural beauty these living ecosystems provide.
Part Four, What can Oceans Gain from Freshwater WQT?, examines existing schemes that provide an economic incentive for keeping lakes and streams clean, and asks whether these schemes can be expanded to include the oceans.
Part Five, Mangrove Forests as Carbon Sinks, examines the potential for using carbon finance to save and restore mangrove forests around the world.
Part Six, Marine Biodiversity Offsets, examines existing that provide an economic incentive to preserve natural habitat for endangered species on land, and provides a guide for adapting these schemes to the ocean.
The Forest Trends Marine Ecosystem Services (MARES) Katoomba Meeting is now winding down. We spend all day yesterday videoblogging from Palo Alto, and have spent much of today doing the same and uploading audio streams from Tuesday's panel discussions. We should have all audio content uploaded by Thursday morning, with PDFs and summaries available shortly thereafter.
Katoomba XVI is just the latest in a string of events designed to bring the value of nature's services into our global economy. It picks up where Katoomba XIV left off in Ghana, and sets the stage for the next two meetings, to take place in Viet Nam and the Democratic Republic of Congo. For a glimpse into the Katoomba Process, we've compiled a brief explanatory video here:
Into the Ocean
The Marine and Coastal Katoomba Meeting capitalizes on ever-expanding interest in finding innovative solutions to conserve our marine environment and resources, in order to safeguard human well-being. The dialog around market-based mechanisms has to-date focused on fishery catch shares and quota markets. Rather than focusing on the state of existing marine and coastal markets, we will instead concentrate on developing new financing tools and approaches and expanding the use of market-based mechanisms to other services, such as coastline stabilization, beach maintenance and production, fish nursery functions of mangroves and seagrass beds, coastal water quality and ocean carbon storage.
Intended Outcomes:
This meeting is the first in a series to strategize and develop action plans for realizing the potential of market-based mechanisms as a tool for conserving marine ecosystems and their services. It has three objectives: Catalyze the building of a global community of practice to support payment for ecosystem services (PES) and other innovative financing mechanisms for marine and coastal conservation; Create a strategy to reach consensus on a "blueprint for action" to guide future marine PES, offsets, and other market-based solutions to marine conservation problems; Lay the groundwork for developing a global set of marine PES test projects among public and private sector partners; and Distribute meeting outputs to inform policy makers, industry leaders, resource managers, conservation organizations, and coastal communities.
The Agenda
Day One: We will lay out the concepts on marine ecosystem services and market-based conservation mechanisms, e.g., experiences and ideas, lessons learned and best practices, particularly in the fisheries and water sectors.
Day Two: We will look ahead at the new framing on coastal and marine resource use, management, and policies that the ecosystem services paradigm has already begun stimulating.
To help bring this event to a larger audience, we have posted an outline of the proceedings as schedules. Over the next two days, we will be amending this outline to reflect any changes in the composition of panels, and we will also be uploading recordings of panel discussions, along with PDFs of presentation. You will be able to download the discussions or listen online.
Notice to Media
It is our mission to promote intelligent, informed debate on the role of markets in preserving ecosystem services. We therefore welcome any efforts to distribute our content, and to use ideas presented here in your own material. We do ask, however, that you please accredit the source of all quotes and opinions accordingly, including the time and place the statements were made.
The enormous value of ecosystem services is generating much attention. The public, decision-makers, and the business community are beginning to understand why protecting the habitats that provide those services benefits not only local communities and national economies, but also private sector investors.
Panelists:
Ricardo Bayon, EKO Asset Management Partners
Albert Cho, Cisco Systems
Tundi Agardy, Forest Trends
Lorenzo Rosensweig, Fondo Mexicano para la Conservaciķn de la Naturaleza
Note: Parts of the Q&A are inaudible. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Engaging with the Tourism Sector
Tourism depends on tourists, who come because there's something to see and experience. Along the shore, that sojethig usually involves biodiversity -- whether in the form of coral reefs, mangroves, or the animals that inhabit and support them. This stream, therefore, focuses on biodiversity as an ecosystem service
Community and other institutions, both formal and informal, play a critical role in setting the stage for development of marine markets and market-like mechanisms. But communities can also be at risk from private sector investment, if issues of equity, access, common property, and governance are not well understood and appreciated.
Solving Open Access Issues in Marine and Coastal Resource Utilization
Moderated by Indumathie Hewawasam, Marine Policy Specialist
Summary:
Government policies can steer use so it is sustainable, even in the open access domain of oceans. While some policies can also drive marine market development, the spectrum of market mechanisms can also positively influence government policies. The use of marine protected areas, marine spatial planning, and community-based management have all been used to protect ecosystem services and secure the sustainability of financing for conservation.
Blue Carbon: Extending Terrestrial Carbon Markets to Cover Marine and Coastal Carbon Pools
Preserving forests and reducing deforestation have been thought to be keys to combating the impacts of climate change. However, recent research shows that the oceans and coastal ecosystems can store comparable if not greater amounts of carbon than forests. It is time to include coastal and marine carbon pools in the carbon market dialogs.
Moderator: Robert Repetto, UN Foundation & Clean Air-Cool Planet
The Role of Private Sector in Forging Marine Ecosystem Services Markets
Governments, academia, and NGOs all play a role in crafting solutions to the loss of ecosystem services, and along with communities and the private sector, can help a shape a future in which ecosystem services are not just protected, but are the basis for profitable investing.
"Click here to download the PowerPoint presentation 
