This workshop seeks to contribute to research and learning on the law and policy on ecosystems services by focusing on the regulatory and institutional challenges in creating markets for ecosystems services.
The Environmental Regulatory Research Group at the School of Law, University of Surrey; the Centre for Environmental Strategy in the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey and the Environmental Law Program at The George Washington Law School will host an international interdisciplinary workshop on regulatory and institutional frameworks for markets for ecosystems services to be held at the School of Law, University of Surrey on 6-7 June 2012. The workshop seeks to contribute to research and learning on the law and policy on ecosystems services by focusing on the regulatory and institutional challenges in creating markets for ecosystems services. The principal goal is to enable outcome-oriented interaction between experts, innovators, and front-end users of these evolving market models to learn about recent progress, what strategies can be adopted to encourage cross-learning between different models for regulatory and institutional frameworks, and how to design new institutional and regulatory mechanisms that can help preserve ecosystem services.
There is increasing recognition that using markets to protect and restore ecosystems and their capacity to provide services is crucial to preserving and maintaining biodiversity as well as reducing the impact of human-induced climate change. Whilst the assessment and valuation of these services has received extensive analysis and advanced assessment tools have been developed by conservation biologists different skills must be brought to bear to translate these assessments into institutional and regulatory systems that can protect and enhance ecosystem services. Consequently, mature methods for analysing and establishing robust institutional and regulatory frameworks that can lead to secure market-based conservation practices are still in their early stages of development. It is clear that regulatory and institutional innovation capable of making ecosystem protection profitable for private decision makers and revenue generative for the guardian communities is essential in realising the economic value of those systems and their services; and securing the imperative to protect and restore.
WORKSHOP THEMES
Some topics of interest include:
The workshop is intended to bring together scientists, lawyers, economists and policy makers from academic institutions, government, non-governmental organisations and private business to discuss policy-leading theoretical and practical aspects of the design and maintenance of regulatory and institutional frameworks for markets for ecosystem services.
CONFIRMED SPEAKERS
Prof Alison Clarke, School of Law, University of Surrey, UK
Prof Veerle Heyveart, Law Department, London School of Economics, UK
Prof Ana Maria Nusdeo, Faculty of Law, University of San Paulo, Brazil
Prof Colin Reid, School of Law, Dundee University Law School, UK
Prof Sue White, School of Applied Sciences, Cranfield University, UK
Dr Stuart Whitten, CSIRO Ecosystems Services, Australia
ORGANISERS
Dr Thoko Kaime, Environmental Regulatory Research Group, School of Law, University of Surrey
Dr Jonathan Chenoweth, Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey
Please see the accompanying videos below for more information on this event.