Market Based Instruments for Ecosystem Services in a Regional Context

This report is about how to identify the need for an MBI, and what general issues to consider and principles to apply in designing it. It is not and could not be a recipe book, because the actual design of an MBI should be strongly influenced by its regional and local contexts. Also, there is still much to be learned about MBIs, and some aspects of design are technically difficult, so it will usually be necessary to seek specialist advice. The level of advice needed will of course differ depending on the complexity of the issue being addressed and the nature of the MBI under consideration. Relatively simple MBIs or new applications may only require a review of their structure and proposed implementation strategy to ensure differences in context, scale and other factors have been appropriately considered. More complex MBI applications or new types of MBIs will benefit from specialist input at all stages. There are now many possible sources of advice including state government agencies, researchers within the CSIRO and Universities and several consultants with experience in the area.