Conservation and Biodiversity Banking: A Guide to Setting Up and Running Biodiversity Credit Trading Systems » (New Edition)

Ricardo Bayon is a co-founder of EKO Asset Management Partners.

Jessica Fox is a Senior Scientist and Manager of the Ecoasset program at EPRI Solutions in Palo Alto, California, USA.

Nathaniel Carroll is Project Manager with both the Ecosystem Marketplace and the Ecosystem Services Program of Forest Trends.

The conservation of biodiversity is now big business. Whether called conservation banking, species banking, habitat banking, biodiversity banking, biodiversity offsets, compensatory mitigation or ecological footprint offsetting, the idea of financially valuing biodiversity and using the market and businesses to promote conservation is growing rapidly.

This handbook is a comprehensive guide to conservation banking explaining: what it is and how it works. The book covers the origins of conservation banking; the pros and cons of this approach to conservation, how conservation banking works in reality; the legal, practical and financial aspects of setting up and running a conservation bank; and how biodiversity off-sets can be internationalized. Authored by leading experts in the field of ecosystem markets, the book provides practical guidance, tools, case studies, analysis and insights into conservation banking in the United States, its biodiversity banking namesake in Australia and other similar approaches internationally.

It is an essential one-stop reference manual for conservation organizations, private landowners, developers, complying industries, regulating agencies, policy makers, bank developers and investors in the US, Australia, Europe and elsewhere where market-based solutions to the loss of biodiversity and species extinction are being considered.

Forewords   Tom Albanese   Stephanie Meeks     vii
List of Authors     xi
Acknowledgements     xvi
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations     xvii
List of Figures, Tables and Boxes     xix
Overview     1
Introduction   Ricardo Bayon   Nathaniel Carroll   Jessica Fox     4
History and Theory: The Origin and Evolution of Conservation Banking   Deborah L. Mead     9
The Advantages and Opportunities   Wayne White     33
The Pitfalls and Challenges   Deborah Fleischer   Jessica Fox     43
Establishing a Conservation Bank     51
Ecological Considerations   Robert Bonnie   David S. Wilcove     53
Legal Considerations   Royal C. Gardner     69
Regulatory Considerations   Susan Hill     89
Business Considerations   Craig Denisoff     109
Financial Considerations   Sherry Teresa     127
State of the Art     157
Fish Banking   Tom Cannon   Howard Brown     159
Getting Two for One: Opportunities and Challenges in Credit Stacking   JessicaFox     171
The Marine Leap: Conservation Banking and the Brave New World   Tundi Agardy     181
Going Global     187
Biodiversity Offsets   Kerry ten Kate   Mira Inbar     189
Australia's Biodiversity Credits   James Shields     205
Conclusion     221
The Future of Biodiversity Offset Banking   Nathaniel Carroll   Ricardo Bayon   Jessica Fox     223
US Federal Guidance for Conservation Banks     227
Template for a Conservation Bank Agreement     249
Template for a Bank's Conservation Easement     267
Template for a Credit Sales Agreement     281
Index     289