FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

National Ecosystem Services Council Formed to Promote Expansion of Environmental Trading Practices

Contact: info@ecosystemservicescouncil.org

An alliance of business, environmental and government leaders in Oregon are joining forces to form the Ecosystem Services Council.  These organizations represent the nation’s first not-for-profit efforts to establish an ecosystem services marketplace—with the goal of organizing market-based efforts that promote clean air, clean water, land protection and habitat restoration.  The work of the Council takes market initiatives beyond the frenetic energy of carbon markets to support investment in whole ecosystems.

Market-based efforts that encourage environmental restoration are growing rapidly at all levels. Globally, the World Bank estimates that $30 billion moved through carbon markets in 2006.  In Oregon, an unmet demand of $30 million persists for the wetland mitigation credits necessary for future development.  Locally, Clean Water Services, a public water-resources utility in Oregon, used market-based approaches to restore 35 miles of streams for $6 million instead of spending $60 million on industrial-engineering to meet water quality standards.

To unify these global, state and local initiatives, business and government leaders at last week’s Oregon Leadership Summit prioritized the formation of an ecosystem services marketplace. They viewed it as a key green-enterprise that the state should pursue. The Ecosystem Services Council is ideally-suited to follow through on their conclusion.

In the same way the U.S. Green Building Council has successfully advanced sustainable building practices through its certification program, the Ecosystem Services Council will advance the scope, pace and effectiveness of the nation’s investments in environmental restoration. The Council is focused on environmental gains, creating a marketplace that meets the business sector’s environmental compliance needs, and the needs of those seeking to voluntarily offset their own environmental impacts.

Allen Alley, Governor Ted Kulongoski’s Deputy Chief of Staff and Bill Gaffi, General Manager of Oregon’s Clean Water Services presented the Ecosystem Marketplace Initiative to the Oregon Leadership Summit on behalf of the Council. They made the case that a marketplace anchored in Oregon can increase the pace of investment in ecosystems, create jobs, and export new ideas.

Bill Gaffi, who also heads the board of the Willamette Partnership noted, “Whether you talk to local government, environmental organizations, or business, there are nodding heads saying ‘yes!’ we need an organization to make sure that these growing markets are of the highest quality, look at our environment as a whole, and operate in a way that is completely transparent. The Council is an exciting convergence of the momentum springing from lots places in Oregon’s sustainability community.”

Duncan Wyse, president of the Oregon Business Council added, “Demand for ecosystem service markets seems to be growing faster than the development of markets themselves. With support, Oregon can help build the markets necessary to meet demand. The Ecosystem Services Council is bringing those people together and leading the charge to export these concepts to like-minded efforts around the world.”

The Ecosystem Services Council will be pivotal in developing this new robust, economic market that will serve as a global model. Early leaders include:

Cascadia Region Green Building Council
City of Portland
Clean Water Services
Defenders of Wildlife
Earth Advantage, Inc.
Ecotrust
Ecosystem Economics, LLC
Institute for Natural Resources
Oregon Business Association
Oregon Economic and Community Development Department
Parametrix
Portland State University
Sustainable Northwest
The Nature Conservancy
Willamette Partnership

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