A recent explosion of greed-induced hype has burgeoned around ‘new’, so-called ‘environmental markets.’ This investing too-often backstopped by rumors and disinformation. The current ‘green-gold-rush,’ and the many, many hundreds of millions of dollars raised – all seem to be pointed at cornering some speculative new market(s).
‘Emerging markets’ for U.S. biodiversity, or voluntary carbon, or nutrient offsets, or pay-for-success PRM, are in most instances unsupported by any existing law or policy (READ: seriously high risk and mostly without established success metrics.)
While there are many criteria by which an ecological restoration or mitigation project might be judged, sustainably improved ecological conditions on the project site(s) simply must be the overarching goal and priority. Our firm counsels property owners to remember that repeatable, predictable, consistent ecological restoration or mitigation requires significant expertise and experience. Without it, one should expect outcomes more akin to a study or research project.
