2012/4 Bundling and Stacking Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) Workshop (Washington, DC, USA)

April 5-6, 2012, Washington, DC, USA - This workshop on bundling and stacking approaches to payment for ecosystem services (PES) schemes was convened by the TransLinks partnership and was made possible by support from USAID through the TransLinks Cooperative Agreement.

Overview

The recognition that ecosystems provide multiple services with markets and payments emerging based on the value of these services, as evidenced by growing carbon, biodiversity, and water markets and payments, is at the core of this workshop. Ideal investments in natural capital would be founded upon multiple ecosystem service values, so, as to create sufficient incentives to stimulate conservation and sustainable use of ecosystems. Bundling (the integration of multiple ecosystems services provided at the same location into one credit type) and stacking (the generation of individual ecosystem service credits types from the same location) represent opportunities to maximize the different benefits provided by a landscape or seascape through ecosystem service markets and payments. Both approaches represent unique challenges and opportunities, which vary across ecological, social, economic, and political contexts.

In light of the potential opportunities and challenges of bundling and stacking, the objectives of this workshop were:

To clarify terms and concepts related to bundling and stacking;
To assess the key challenges -- technical, market, and regulatory – as well as, the opportunities of bundling and stacking approaches in different contexts and from various perspectives, including the buyer, seller, investor, and/or donor;
To exchange lessons learned from practitioners, researchers, and policy makers working around the world on the implementation of bundling and stacking;
To identify a common framework and guiding principles for project developers working in different contexts that help them overcome challenges and realize opportunities with respect to bundling and stacking.

Agenda

DAY 1 - THURSDAY, APRIL 5

Time		Description
9:00 am		Breakfast
9:30 am		Welcome and Introductions David Wilkie, Wildlife Conservation Society
10:00 am		Introduction of TransLinks Mike Colby, United States Agency for International Development
10:15 am		Rationale Behind the Meeting and Significance of the Topic for Environmental Markets Michael Jenkins, Forest Trends
10:30 am		Getting on the Same Page: Key Concepts and Overarching Issues to Be Addressed Carter Ingram, Wildlife Conservation Society
11:00 am		Break
11:15 am		Lunch
1:00 - 1:45		Bundling and Stacking Case Studies Bundling and Stacking in the Context of Biodiversity Offsets in Madagascar Amrei von Hase, Business and Biodiversity Offsets Program(BBOP)/Forest Trends Bundling and Stacking for Micro-Enterprise Development Ann Koontz, Relief International Bundling and Stacking Challenges in the Marine Context Winnie Lau, Marine Ecosystem Services (MARES) Program, Forest Trends Three Stacked and Bundled Programs in the Northern Plains of Cambodia Tom Clements, Wildlife Conservation Society A Case study of Stacking in the United States George Kelly, Environmental Banc & Exchange, LLC Discussion: Summary of the state of stacking and bundling in practice and identification of a common framework for approaching the subject
12:30 pm		Lunch
1:00 pm		Discussion 1 Under what conditions do bundling, stacking and/or a combination of both approaches provide sufficient incentives to conserve and/or manage multiple benefits from a landscape or seascape? Under what conditions does bundling provide sufficient economic incentives for conservation that otherwise would not exist? Under what conditions does stacking provide economic incentives for conservation that otherwise would not exist? What does available case evidence for bundling tell us about “best practice” and the enabling conditions needed to promote successful projects? What does available case evidence for stacking tell us about “best practice” and the enabling conditions needed to promote successful projects? Under what conditions, does a combination of the two approaches maximize benefits? What groups/individuals are engaging with these approaches (as buyers, sellers, regulators, etc.)? What are the benefits (economic, ecological, political, etc.) for these different groups and are these distributed equitably? How are benefits (ecological, social, financial) being measured? What are new, emerging opportunities for using these approaches and how can these opportunities be captured by different groups?
2:30 pm		Discussion 2 Under what conditions are bundling and/or stacking not appropriate mechanisms for promoting conservation or management of the multiple benefits provided by a landscape or seascape? What are the major obstacles (ecological measurement, regulations, economics, etc.) and risks of bundling in different contexts (voluntary versus regulatory environments, developed versus developing countries, etc.)? What are the major obstacles (ecological measurement, regulations, economics, etc.) and risks of stacking in different contexts (voluntary versus regulatory environments, developed versus developing countries, etc.)? Can and how can these risks and challenges be overcome? If risks or challenges are too high, what other models exist for developing incentives to maximize the multiple benefits from landscapes? Note: “Risk” could refer to social, ecological, political, or financial risks
4:00 pm		Break
4:15 pm		Discussion 3: Additionality Is additionality a risk for bundling and stacking, or just stacking? What are the additionality challenges across different contexts (i.e. wetland banking in the United States versus biodiversity offsets in Madagascar versus Protected Areas)? How can additionality be measured? Does it matter which ecosystem service is the “main” service against which additionality is measured?
6:00 pm		Day 1 Closing
7:00 pm		Dinner
DAY 2 - FRIDAY, APRIL 6
Time		Description
8:00 am		Breakfast
8:30 am		Recap of Day 1 and Overview of Day 2
9:00 am		Discussion 4: Moving Beyond Research: Towards Implementing Bundling and Stacking Approaches What types of guidance do project developers need and want to develop successful bundled and/or stacked programs? Do we know enough to suggest when different approaches may/may not be worth pursuing? Can we prescribe the combinations of ecosystem service types that might be most amenable to bundling and would result in the highest ecological and economic benefits? Can we prescribe the combinations of ecosystem service types that might be most amenable to stacking and would result in the highest ecological and economic benefits? What guidance can be given to a project developer regarding regulatory challenges related to bundling in different countries and sectors? How do voluntary standards affect project development? What guidance can be given to a project developer regarding regulatory challenges related to stacking in different countries and sectors? How do voluntary standards affect project development? Can other major challenges identified on Day 1 be overcome and, if so, how?
11:00 am		Break
11:30 am		Break-out groups: Solutions for Addressing Challenges Three break-out groups will be created to identify potential solutions to addressing one of the major implementation challenges identified throughout the discussions on Day 1 and Day 2
12:30 pm		Working Lunch
1:30 pm		Breakout Group Presentations
2:30 pm		Synthesis Discussion
3:30 pm		Next Steps and Outputs
4:30 pm		Adjourn