Introducing the Grassland Conservation Market Symposium

Posted by: Elisa Valade 5 years, 3 months ago

Grassland Conservation Markets

Over the last Century, the native prairie grassland ecosystem of Alberta’s South Saskatchewan Region has been transformed by agriculture and land development. Conservation markets are an effective tool that brings ranchers, farmers, conservation groups, land developers and industry together to develop revenue streams from the different ecosystem services that grassland conservation provides, such as water quality, carbon storage and wildlife habitat. In this system, land owners are rewarded for their voluntary activities that support healthy grassland ecosystems in Alberta.

Across North America, we are seeing examples of successfully implemented conservation markets in grassland ecosystems. We believe there is an opportunity to apply these markets in Alberta’s South Saskatchewan Region, and we are bringing together experts across multiple disciplines to learn about what makes grassland conservation markets successful for application in Alberta.

The Grassland Conservation Market Symposium

Led by the Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity Network, the Grassland Conservation Market Symposium will bring together ranchers, farmers, conservation groups, developers and industry to identify opportunities for rewarding land owners and managers for conserving and managing healthy grassland ecosystems for ecosystem service and biodiversity benefits. The Symposium will showcase successful examples of markets for grassland conservation and ecosystem services in North America. Our goal is to create momentum for a prairie grassland conservation market in Alberta’s South Saskatchewan Region.

About the Symposium

The symposium is a two-day event taking place in Calgary, Alberta on November 19 & 20, 2019. The symposium is focused on the following objectives:

• Increasing an understanding of conservation markets
• Developing an understanding of the value of investing in grassland natural assets in Southern Alberta
• Profiling successful examples of grassland conservation markets
• Increasing our understanding of conservation finance mechanisms that can be applied to grasslands; and
• Advancing conservation markets in Alberta’s grasslands

Who Should Attend?

This symposium is for any key stakeholders and interested parties in conservation markets. Particularly, we are bringing together:

• Potential investors in grassland conservation
• Private and public land owners and/or managers that undertake management actions to conserve and restore grasslands
• Land trusts, watershed groups and industry associations
• Non-governmental organizations interested in market approaches for ecosystem services, and, in particular, water shed organizations
  
  

More Information

Save the Date – November 19 and 20^th, 2019, and keep an eye on www.ecoservicesnetwork.ca for more information! Follow us on twitter and sign up for our e-newsletter to receive updates on registration details.