The contribution of carbon-based payments to wetland conservation compensation on agricultural landscapes

This paper evaluates the potential of payments for carbon sequestered through wetland and riparian conservation, to offset the costs of publicly funded wetland conservation programs. In particular, the research focuses on quantifying the value of carbon sequestered in wetland and riparian zones of the Prairie Pothole Region in the province of Saskatchewan. The analysis examines a number of different program design, targeting alternatives and carbon prices and finds that payments for carbon contribute up to 3% (at $5 t−1 CO2e) and up to 9% (at $15 t−1 CO2e) of the monetary costs to compensate farmers for adopting wetland and riparian conservation management.

Research highlights► This manuscript provides an analysis of the potential of payments for carbon sink services provided by prairie wetland and riparian areas to offset the costs of wetland conservation payment programs in two distinct regions of the Prairie Pothole Region of Saskatchewan, Canada. ► The analysis provides a detailed review of alternative targeting mechanisms and evaluates the potential costs of delivering the alternatives. ► This is a novel analysis that provides some important insights into the potential for integrating policy aimed at wetland and riparian conservation and climate change mitigation. ► The results reveal that carbon payments can contribute up to 3% (at $5 t−1 CO2e) and up to 9% (at $15 t−1 CO2e) of the monetary costs to compensate farmers for adopting wetland and riparian conservation management. ► The paper also provides a discussion of the influence of the different targeting scenarios on both the cost of the conservation program and the potential contribution of carbon payments to the program costs.