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Ecosystem Service Commodification: Lessons from California

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  • Marissa Bongiovanni Schmitz
  • Erin Clover Kelly

Abstract

In 2013 the state of California launched a cap-and-trade program with a groundbreaking protocol for improved forest management (IFM), providing a framework to monetize carbon sequestration in managed forests. Through in-depth interviews and document review, this research examines California's IFM program development as a case study in stakeholder-engaged ecosystem commodification. We consider how diverse, vested-interest actors contested rival program design options by using the familiar narratives of ecological modernization, green governmentality, and civic environmentalism. The results reveal the benefits and complexities of delegating methodological design to stakeholders who seek direct participation in the market, and highlight the challenges of balancing multiple program objectives, including environmental benefits, legitimacy and market reception, and landowner participation potential. This research provides a unique window into the complex process of forest-offset program design and offers broader lessons for ecosystem markets currently being designed and implemented globally.

Suggested Citation

  • Marissa Bongiovanni Schmitz & Erin Clover Kelly, 2016. "Ecosystem Service Commodification: Lessons from California," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 16(4), pages 90-110, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:glenvp:v:16:y:2016:i:4:p:90-110
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Isabella Alcañiz & RicardoA. Gutierrez, 2020. "Between the Global Commodity Boom and Subnational State Capacities:Payment for Environmental Services to Fight Deforestation inArgentina," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 20(1), pages 38-59, February.
    2. Kelly, Erin Clover & Crandall, Mindy S., 2022. "State-level forestry policies across the US: Discourses reflecting the tension between private property rights and public trust resources," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    3. Alisa E White & David A Lutz & Richard B Howarth & José R Soto, 2018. "Small-scale forestry and carbon offset markets: An empirical study of Vermont Current Use forest landowner willingness to accept carbon credit programs," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(8), pages 1-24, August.

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