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REWARDING BENEFITS THROUGH PAYMENTS AND MARKETS
Recommendation: Contribute to emerging international initiatives to support direct investment in
biodiversity public goods and natural capital across a wider array of ecosystems, such as the proposed
Green Development Mechanism.
Access and benefit sharing for genetic resources (ABS)
ABS-related activities straddle payment schemes and market-based rewards. Historically, host countries have
benefited little from the development and commercialisation of products based on genetic resources sourced
from their territory. A fairer and more efficient regime is needed that can establish clear rights for local people,
encourage the conservation of genetic resources in situ and facilitate discoveries and their application across
a range of sectors.
Recommendation: Successfully conclude negotiations under the CBD on the international regime
for more efficient and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic
resources. A premium is needed for traditional local knowledge that leads to successful commercialisation
based on genetic resources, together with better screening, contractual and dispute resolution procedures
to minimise transaction costs. Investing in local capacity for documenting and assessing the state and value
of biodiversity will be critical to successful initiatives.
Tax-based mechanisms and public compensation mechanism
Private and public efforts at a local level to conserve nature lead to national benefits that merit due incentive
and payment schemes. The use of tax breaks and other compensation mechanisms offer an important
‘thanks’ and incentives for efforts. Similarly, transfers of tax revenues across regions can help give additional
support to regions in recognition of biodiversity-rich areas or pro-biodiversity activities that create national
public goods.
Recommendation: Make more systematic use of opportunities to provide tax exemptions for
activities that integrate ecological concerns and promote conservation. Tax breaks can provide powerful
incentives for private actors to donate land or to engage in long-term stewardship agreements. Intergovernmental
fiscal transfers can likewise provide positive incentives to public agencies at various levels:
ecological (e.g. protected area) criteria can be used when allocating tax revenues to lower government levels
and hence address financing gaps and needs on the ground.
Recommendation: Damage caused by protected wildlife to local people needs to be recognised as
a significant and legitimate concern. Public compensation programmes that account for such damage
are necessary but should also aim to promote a more positive perspective that rewards the presence and
protection of wildlife.
Green markets and fiscal incentives
The recent expansion of markets for biodiversity-friendly products and services – including forestry, fisheries
and agriculture, tourism and other sectors – reflects a combination of market push (supply-side) initiatives by
producers and market pull (demand-side) changes in the preferences of consumers, business and governments,
expressed via their purchasing decisions. Markets that take ecosystems into account can stimulate
the adoption of new production and processing methods that are cleaner, greener and more equitable, while
helping to ensure the continued provision of scarce ecosystem services. Governments play an important role
by providing an enabling framework that can incentivise these markets, including innovative tax and fiscal
policies.
TEEB FOR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL POLICY MAKERS - CHAPTER 5: PAGE 3