Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2012CO257B

Assessing the Benefits and Drawbacks of Different Institutional Arrangements to Enhancing Forest and Water Ecosystem Services and Ecosystem Services Markest in Colorado

Institute: Colorado
Year Established: 2012 Start Date: 2012-03-01 End Date: 2013-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $5,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $2,400

Principal Investigators: Antony Cheng

Project Summary: The purpose of my study is to contribute to a Colorado State University and Agricultural Experiment Station research project assessing the benefits, drawbacks and potential applicability of involving various institutional arrangements in the protection and enhancement of forest and water related ecosystem services in Colorado watersheds. The overall project proposes to inform future Payment for Ecosystem Service (PES) capacity and institutional arrangement development in Colorado, as well as directly advise a water quality improvement pilot payment program in Northern Colorado. This project is focused on institutional actors such as federal land management agencies and collaborative decisionmaking arrangements as potential ecosystem service “providers”, and public and private sector entities such as water municipalities and brewing companies as “beneficiaries” of those ecosystem services. My study will contribute to this overall collaborative research project, informing project steps and results.