The Outlook
March 2008

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
W e l c o m e

Forests are traditionally valued for the basic goods they provide, including timber and fiber.   However, forest ecosystems provide a full range of products and services that are generally not directly valued in the marketplace, including sequestration of carbon and moderating local climates, filtering air and water resources, providing habitat for wildlife, and other environmental and social benefits. These ecosystem services are frequently overlooked and undervalued in economic models and policy making.   This month's report is an introduction to Ecosystem Markets and the opportunities they offer for supporting forestry.

I also invite you to make a donation to support this newsletter.  Dovetail Partners is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, your contribution is tax-deductible, and you can make a donation online today!

- Jeff   

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I n   T h i s   I s s u e:

R e p o r t s:

Ecosystem Markets
New Mechanisms to Support Forestry


N e w s:

As a City Rebuilds, Green is the Way to Go

Dovetail Partners and the Warren Economic Development Authority Pursue Green Building Projects

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

D o v e t a i l   R e p o r t s

All reports are available online.

Ecosystem Markets

New Mechanisms to Support Forestry
Kathryn Fernholz
 

With the growing interest in global warming, climate change, and the influence that human activities have on our environment, there are increasing opportunities for market-based mechanisms to support responsible forestry and environmentally beneficial land use decisions.   An increasingly common market-based mechanism is the “carbon credit” which links marketplace values with the sequestration of carbon. Additional market opportunities exist and are in development for other ecosystem products and services, including payments for water, soil protection, and habitat enhancements.   Although carbon credits are currently grabbing the headlines, the take home message from the evolving “ecosystem marketplace” is that the time may be right for implementation of economic tools that link environmental cause-and-effect relationships and to more robustly reward the full range of environmental stewardship values. There is also a need to develop the tools to effectively measure and monitor these marketplace transactions.

http://www.dovetailinc.org/reports/pdf/DovetailEcoMkts0308dk.pdf

To access Dovetail's Publications, click here.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

N e w s

More Dovetail News is available online.

As a City Rebuilds, Green is the Way to Go

Dovetail Partners and the Warren Economic Development Authority Pursue Green Building Projects

Warren, MN (3/19/08) - At a recent planning meeting, the Warren Economic Development Authority (WEDA) determined that building green homes and offering green education is a step in the right direction for rebuilding a community hit by severe flooding in 1996 and 1997.

The county seat lost over four dozen homes in the three major floods in 1996 and 1997 . A water diversion structure was constructed to divert the water away from the city. Last year, confirmation was received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to redraw the floodplains and lift building restrictions.

“Green building makes sense in terms of ecology,” says Phil Thompson, President of WEDA. “It's also very cost-effective and good for the area.”

Dovetail Partners, a non-profit organization based in Minneapolis and working throughout the region, has partnered with WEDA to identify green opportunities for the reconstruction.

“Warren is a great community with an opportunity to rebuild and incorporate the latest green building possibilities into the process,” said Alison Lindburg, Director of Dovetail's Eco-Affordable Housing Program.

For the complete article:

http://www.dovetailinc.org/DovetailNews031908.html

To Subscribe, click here.

To make a tax-deductible donation to Dovetail, click here.