Harnessing Farms and Forests in the Low Cabon Economy
This guide is the first comprehensive technical publication providing direction to landowners for sequestering carbon and information for traders and others who will need to verify the sequestration. It will provide invaluable direction to farmers, foresters, land managers, consultants, brokers, investors, regulators, and others interested in creating consistent, credible greenhouse gas offsets as a tradable commodity in the United States. The guide contains a non-technical section detailing methodologies for scoping of the costs and benefits of a proposed project, quantifying offsets of various sorts under a range of situations and conditions, and verifying and registering the offsets. The technical section provides specific information for quantifying, verifying, and regulating offsets from agricultural and forestry practices.

Valuation of Ecosystem Services and SEA: Lessons from Influential Cases
Roel Slootweg and Pieter van Beukering have analysed cases in which the valuation of ecosystem services has significantly influenced strategic decision making. The linkages with Strategic Environmental Assessment are highlighted. This main report can be downloaded in pdf format. A background document contains ten main case studies plus a summary of ten additional cases. This background report, Valuation of Ecosystem Services and SEA: Influential Case Studies, can also be downloaded.

Green Power Partnership Webinar: Green Power Markets and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)
EPA hosted a webinar on October 23 to answer basic questions about how green power retailers can retire allowances through the voluntary renewable energy set-aside (VRE) in many of states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), and the importance of doing so for the green power market. State RGGI Administrators, Tracking System Representatives with APX, EPA officials, and representatives from the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) provided information and answered questions. Speakers addressed: * The eligibility criteria for retiring allowances * The roles of Partners, providers, and regulators * How and who must apply, and on what time schedule * Where to go for more information

An Appraisal of the NSW Biobanking Scheme to Promote the Goal of Sustainable Development in NSW
This article puts forth an appraisal of the currently proposed NSW biodiversity banking scheme in light of international sustainable development policy.

Mitigation of Impacts to Fish and Wildlife Habitat: Estimating Costs and Identifying Opportunities
Every year, human activities cause significant harm to fish and wildlife habitat and the environment. Many of the impacts to these natural resources are never addressed. In certain cases, however, federal, state, and local laws and programs can require monetary or in-kind compensation for these impacts. A new ELI report, "Mitigation of Impacts to Fish and Wildlife Habitat: Estimating Costs and Identifying Opportunities," estimates that private and public expenditures for such compensation under key federal programs total up to $3.8 billion annually.

Final Compensatory Mitigation Rule
On March 31, 2008, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) issued revised regulations governing compensatory mitigation for authorized impacts to wetlands, streams, and other waters of the U.S. under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. These regulations are designed to improve the effectiveness of compensatory mitigation to replace lost aquatic resource functions and area, expand public participation in compensatory mitigation decision making, and increase the efficiency and predictability of the mitigation project review process. Links to the final rule and supporting materials can be found below.

Guidance for the Establishment, Use, and Operation of Conservation Banks
The Final Guidance for the Establishment, Use and Operation of Habitat Conservation Banks provides guidance to assist US Fish and Wildlife Service personnel in evaluating proposals to establish Conservation Banks.