Abstract
Financial incentives for large-scale wetland restoration: Beyond markets to common asset trusts
Highlights
Wetland restoration can contribute significantly to meeting many global, national, and local goals and initiatives, including several United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).[1,2] Using the Ramsar definition, wetlands include any inland, coastal, or marine waterbody, still or flowing, fresh or saline, permanent or temporary, to a depth of 6 m at low tide.[3]
Wetland ecosystems provide a range of ecosystem services, including water purification, carbon sequestration, food provision, flood regulation, storm surge protection, and ecotourism, and support biodiversity, and cultural and spiritual values.[1]
We suggest that Payment for ecosystem service (PES) schemes dedicated to, and designed for, wetland restoration will be more effective than single-service-focused schemes and non-financed instruments in increasing the rate and extent of wetland restoration, and increasing the flow of multiple ecosystem services
Summary
Wetlands provide $47.4 trillion/year worth of ecosystem services globally and support immense biodiversity, yet face widespread drainage and pollution, and large-scale wetlands restoration is urgently needed. We suggest wetland-based PES schemes use common asset trusts (CATs) to build investment portfolios of wetlands across landscapes that sustain and enhance overall provision of multiple ecosystem services. CATs can meet the needs of multiple investors, permit bundled payments, and provide flexibility to invest in the restoration of numerous services/values, all using a coordinated, highly collaborative, prioritized, and transparent process. CATs would support financial viability, facilitate efficiency to reduce administrative burdens, and enable credibility and social licence building to restore wetland values and services globally
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
