دانلود رایگان مقاله اعتبار های حفاظتی - تکامل یک رویکرد بازار محور برای احیای گونه های نگران کننده در زمین های خصوصی

abstract

When species are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, there are often real or perceived negative consequences for landowners that may produce perverse incentives and lead to the elimination rather than protection of habitat for the species on private land. In Texas, where approximately 95% of the land is privately owned, the listing of one species and the potential listing of another led to the creation of two innovative programs aimed at incentivizing landowners to protect and improve habitat for the two species: Recovery Credit System for the Golden-Cheeked Warbler and Conservation Recovery Award System for the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard. Both programs were based on multistakeholder collaborations that included federal and state agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and private landowners, and which resulted in quasimarket mechanisms for the voluntary protection of habitat by landowners for the species of concern. Key components of both programs included confidentiality of landowner conservation agreements with the state’s wildlife management agency and the creation of not-for profit organizations to implement contracts with landowners and disseminate payments for habitat conservation actions to landowners. These two programs have also informed efforts to protect the Lesser Prairie-Chicken and Greater Sage-Grouse, which are under threat on private land in multiple states. Seven lessons learned from protection programs for the four species presented in this article provide useful guidelines for the conservation of other at-risk species on private land elsewhere.

iscussion and Conclusion

The four case studies presented here show how conservation initiatives for species of concern on private land have evolved from singlestate subsidized short-contract projects (LRRP) to federally funded competitive 25-yr conservation credit transfers (RCS) for GCWs, voluntary land management participation and credit transactions programs (CRAS) for DSLs, and a multistate Habitat Exchange program based on functional acres and an dynamic approach for achieving perpetual conservation of habitat for LPCs. These case studies provide important insights for the development of market-oriented mechanisms that may facilitate the recovery of threatened and endangered nongame species on private land in the United States, as well as other countries. Important characteristics that have contributed to their success include: 1. Involvement of diverse stakeholders and partners, including representatives from relevant state and federal agencies: This is critical to enhance trust, ensure buy-in from policy makers, federal and state agencies, private landowners, and environmental groups and reduce the risks of litigation by marginalized stakeholders. 2. Well-informed, multistakeholder science committees: This facilitates the development of biologically effective and scientifically credible conservation mechanisms, as well as measurable and verifiable conservation units, such as functional acres.