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Markets for biodiversity conservation – their characteristics and implications for project developers

Loss of biodiversity is one of today's biggest environmental challenges. The idea of payment for ecosystem services (PES) as a way to face this loss emerged only recently and is still poorly developed. Payments for biodiversity conservation can have the form of biodiversity offsets, voluntary deals, retail sales and climate change mitigation projects with positive biodiversity impacts. In this thesis, an analysis was done about requirements to meet the particular preferences of buyers in these transaction systems and payment schemes for the case of tropical forestry, both locally (for a case in Colombia) and internationally. Locally, preferences of the private sector regarding a potential biodiversity offset system were investigated. On the international level, current transactions on biodiversity conservation were analysed regarding the application of project selection criteria proposed in guidelines for projects providing ES and sustainable tropical forest management. An analysis of compatibility of the biodiversity-related services from the Colombian case for these payment systems concludes. The survey results suggest that support exists for a mandatory biodiversity offset system and prior experience with offset activities. Reforestation and restoration activities related to the support of scenic beauty and water-related services are preferred. Contestants responded that they prefer indicators based on area conserved and carbon sequestered, and they want a participatory approach to establish an offset system that includes marketing-related and educational activities besides the in situ conservation activities. Regarding international payment schemes, the majority of guideline criteria are applied in projects (e.g., additionality, baseline, sustainable development), others seem less relevant (leakage, labelling), and some seem only important for certain types of payment systems. Information about retail-sales is scarce, VER-based and voluntary payments is very heterogeneous, while offset-and CER-based payments use the most sophisticated methodology. The San Nicolás project already complies with the majority of the criteria found important. Work remains to be done in order to set up a working offset system and to coordinate project activities with potential buyers of biodiversity-related products in a voluntary transaction.