Ecosystem Service Payments as a Climate Solution: an examination into Successful Aspects of Ecosystem Service Payment Policy Programs

The purpose of this research was to conduct a national and provincial examination of ecosystem service payment policy programs. Various Canadian programs were examined to gain insights into program successes and/or challenges. A great deal of academic literature looks at ecosystem service payment policy of individual programs, yet few compare multiple programs. This research added to this gap because it compared multiple programs across various jurisdictions. A qualitative methodological approach was used, whereby professionals with expertise on ecosystem service payment programs were interviewed. Programs were assessed for measurable indicators of success, impacts on broader public policy, and recognition of social-power relations. The ecosystem service payment policy programs examined in this research included: the Ontario Conservation Land Tax Incentive Program, the Canadian Ecological Gifts Program, the Manitoba Riparian Tax Credit, and the Ontario Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program. An Ecological Economics approach was applied when examining climate solutions and transitions through carbon sequestration by understanding improved ways of increasing conservation lands through regulatory market-based public policy programs. Overall, the examination of social-power relations in these programs provided an original and thoughtful approach.