Debbie Reed
Washington, DC
Ecosystem Services Market Research Consortium
Ecosystem Markets. Built for Producers. Backed by Science.
The Ecosystem Services Market Research Consortium (ESMRC) is conducting research to establish a fully functional ecosystem services market.
Generating Soil Health Solutions
ESMRC is an innovative collaboration that is creating a functional ecosystem services market by 2022.
Initial projects focus on:
- Establishing a functioning ecosystem service market protocol for ecosystem services (carbon, water quality and water quantity);
- Identifying agricultural management system impacts on ecosystem services;
- Developing innovative advanced learning techniques to improve ecosystem services monitoring and quantification;
- Instituting an online platform that tracks and quantifies changes in ecosystem services data;
- Standardizing data collection; and
- Quantifying carbon sequestration capacity of agricultural soils.
Advancing UN Sustainable Development Goals
Ecosystem Services Market Research Consortium supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), 17 global goals to enhance peace and prosperity, eradicate poverty and protect the environment. Specifically, this research bolsters the following SDGs:
Incentivizing Farmers to Adopt Conservation Practices
Climate change is threatening food security and farmer livelihoods. The agriculture sector contributes 9.3 percent of US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; however, the National Academies of Sciences estimates that the accelerated adoption of existing and imminent climate-smart solutions could reduce GHG emissions to negative 4 percent. We must act now to adopt practices that mitigate the effects of climate change.
One way to increase adoption of these sustainable practices is through an ecosystem services market, which incentivizes farmers and ranchers who adopt practices that improve soil health and water usage and reduce GHG emissions.
We funded the ESMRC, the research arm of the Ecosystem Services Market Consortium, to provide the research necessary to create a scaled, efficient, cost-effective marketplace that works for farmers and ranchers.
Visit the Ecosystem Services Market Consortium for more information.
Consortium Partners
Our contribution to ESMRC is matched by our partners at the General Mills Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Noble Research Institute, United Soybean Board, US Department of Agriculture’s Natural Research Conservation Service and the Walton Family Foundation.