Global biodiversity finance : the case for international payments for ecosystem services

'For at least two decades, scholars and practitioners have argued that international beneficiaries of ecosystem conservation should help pay for the supply of services from which they benefit. Yet these arguments have remained inchoate and have had little real impact on the ground. Bishop and Hill's excellent edited volume should help change that. The chapters are chock full of insights and guidance for scaling payments for environmental services to the international level. Everyone interested in the formidable problems of generating sufficient, reliable funding for international ecosystem conservation and spending these funds efficiently should read this book.' (Paul J. Ferraro, Georgia State University, US). -- Global Biodiversity Finance sets out the case for scaling up Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) at the international level. The book explores how International Payments for Ecosystem Services (IPES) can help capture the global willingness-to-pay for biodiversity, and how the resulting revenues can be used efficiently to encourage conservation and the sustainable supply of ecosystem services, on which we all depend. This timely volume includes examples of promising initiatives from around the world, supporting an agenda for action to make IPES a reality. -- Key questions addressed in this volume include: Which ecosystem services are most likely to attract voluntary international payments? How can we assess the international demand for particular ecosystem services? How can potential importers of intangible ecosystem services ensure they receive value for money? What is needed to become a competitive exporter of ecosystem services? What kind of brokering and other services are needed to facilitate agreements between importers and exporters of ecosystem services? What examples exist of international payments for ecosystem services, and what do they tell us about the potential for scaling up IPES? -- Researchers, teachers, policy makers, civil servants and technical staff of NGOs working at the interface between business and nature should find much useful material in this book.