How the Willamette ecosystem services marketplace is different

The Willamette ecosystem services marketplace will differ from other ecosystem markets in purpose, level of integration, and scope.

The Willamette Partnership is intereted in building ecosytem service markets to improve ecosystem health and function, rather than simply to reduce the cost of regulatory compliance (although this is expected to happen, too). Development of the marketplace began by examining the type of restoration needed in the Willamette Basin, identifying the ecosystem services that restoration would create, and, when possible, translating those services into measurable units that relate to regulated parameters.

The Willamette will be an integrated, multi-credit marketplace—one that accounts for and sells credits for a wide range of ecosystem services. Someone who manages their property for its ecological value could sell a variety of types of credits—wetland, water quality, and species protection—on multiple markets, not just one. This increases the financial value of the restoration to the seller and encourages larger scale, more holistic restoration projects than those likely to occur in a single-credit market.

Because it is integrated and will involve many types of credits—and many types of buyers—the Willamette ecosystem marketplace expects to drive restoration projects that are larger than any one party can accomplish alone. In addition, market transactions are not necessarily limited to the Willamette Basin. For some credits, such as carbon offsets, the marketplace infrastructure could potentially involve trades elsewhere in the country.

No other markets have attempted to be as comprehensive, integrated, and ecosystem-focused as the Willamette marketplace. Other states and countries will be watching what happens in the Willamette Basin, looking for concepts, elements, and protocols that can be applied around the country or the world.

What the Willamette marketplace will deliver

When it is mature, Oregonians can expect the following from the Willamette ecosystem services marketplace:

• A more efficient and effective use of planned, compliance-driven expenses
• Opportunities to accommodate growth without environmental degradation
• Increased coordination among various conservation and restoration efforts
• Rewards for voluntary actions on private lands
• A healthier and sustainable Willamette Basin