Ecosystem_Marketplace
Ecosystem Marketplace
American non-profit organization
Ecosystem Marketplace, an initiative of Forest Trends, is a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, that focuses on increasing transparency and providing information for ecosystem services and payment schemes.
The idea of launching Ecosystem Marketplace was borne out of meeting by members of The Katoomba Group, an international working group composed of leading experts from forest and energy industries, research institutions, the financial world, and environmental NGOs dedicated to advancing markets for some of the ecosystem services provided by forests – such as watershed protection, biodiversity habitat, and carbon capture and storage. Both Ecosystem Marketplace and The Katoomba Group are initiatives under Forest Trends. Ecosystem Marketplace specializes in market-based approaches to environmental protection—in the public and private spheres—regarding greenhouse gases, water, biodiversity, and conservation. This is why it is perceived as an organisation that pushes for neoliberal biodiversity conservation.[1]
Ecosystem Marketplace's website states: "We believe that by providing solid and trust-worthy information on prices, regulation, science, and other market-relevant issues, markets for ecosystem services will one day become a fundamental part of our economic and environmental system, helping give value to environmental services that have, for too long, been taken for granted."[2]