Checking the Pulse of Water-Quality Credit Trading

摘要

The Second National Conference on Water Quality Trading was held this May in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It has been three years since the First National Forum was held in Chicago, Illinois, making this a good time to pause and assess the progress we have made in developing water-quality trading programs. In 2003, there was much interest in trading, but also many dubious opinions. Anyone who attended both conferences could not fail to note the explosion of interest in trading and the involvement of many new groups, including environmental and conservation organizations, farmers, energy companies, and mitigation bankers, as well as an entrepreneur or two. Four key developments in the water-quality credit trading arena illustrate recent progress and point to future directions: the continued proliferation of point-point trading programs; new projects designing credit-based approaches for stormwater and wet weather management; new pilot programs exploring multicredit markets for watershed restoration; and a marked increase in the agricultural sector's formal participation in trading policy and programs.