You may already have tired of hearing it by now, but we will add our voice to the rest nonetheless: Happy New Year from the Ecosystem Marketplace.

If 2005 was the year that the idea of ecosystem services and the power of environmental markets first exploded onto the policy stage, 2006 was the year that began to see these forces go mainstream. What will 2007 hold?

Here at the Ecosystem Marketplace, we think 2007 will provide those interested in environmental markets and payments for ecosystem services with a rich and rare opportunity – namely, to dig into the devilish details of implementation secure in the knowledge that they have already gained real traction in the business and policy communities.

The concept of retooling the world's balance sheet in order to account for the value of ecosystem services is so compelling on surface that those interested in market-based conservation have benefited from extolling the big picture rather than hashing out the details in the past several years. If environmental markets and payments for ecosystem services are to reach their full potential, however, it is important for their proponents to focus now on the details of implementation. Where are payments for watershed services appropriate and where are they a pipedream? Should pollution permits be auctioned or allocated? Will markets based on the willingness to pay principle ever be able to revolutionize the way people think about the social rate of return? Why or why not?

Many of these questions are daunting, but we think that – based on the successes of the past two years – 2007 is the time to ask and answer them. In this spirit, we recently turned our attention to some of the important debates bubbling up in the new economy of conservation. Read on to find out about the challenges and opportunities facing certification schemes for coffee as they attempt to make the jump to mainstream stores such as Costco and Wal-Mart. Don't miss our coverage of the conversation surrounding the convergence of the voluntary markets for carbon credits and renewable energy certificates in the U.S. Look to our Opinion section to find out what the founder of South Africa's acclaimed Working for Water Programme has to say about payments for ecosystem services in South Africa, and check out this month's profile for a provocative look at how one Australian CEO is turning the environment into a profit center for his real estate, hotel and funds management company. We hope these will be the first in a year of great stories from the cutting edge of conservation.

— The Ecosystem Marketplace Team

For questions or comments, please contact newsletter@ecosystemmarketplace.com