Innovation Anthology #441:
One market incentive to encourage conservation is called transfer development credits.
Landowners receive credit to maintain ecosystems and municipalities promote higher densities for smart growth.
But there are challenges.
Economist Dr. Marian Weber with Alberta Innovates Technology Futures explains.
DR MARIAN WEBER: For transfer development credits its very difficult because it’s a completely designed market. And so you have to figure out what is the willingness of developers to pay for credit. You need to have development pressure because otherwise there’s no incentive. And at the same time we need to understand what the landowner is willing to accept or be compensated. And when you set up the credit system you have a credit ratio. So you’re saying, developer you must obtain x number of credits per extra storey of development. The landowner, on the other hand, you’re going to say you’re going to get three credits for this kind of ecosystem and five for another. And if you don’t set the price right the program won’t work. Nobody will want to sell and nobody will want to buy.
Dr. Weber says her department is running pilot transfer development credits program for the Cooking Lake-Beaverhills moraine.
Thanks today to Alberta Innovates Technology Futures
FOR INNOVATION ANTHOLOGY
I’M CHERYL CROUCHER
Guest
,
, , , ,
Sponsor
Alberta Innovates Technology Futures
Alberta Innovates launched its consolidation on November 1, 2016
780-450-5111
albertatechfutures.ca
250 Karl Clark Road,
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
T6N 1E4
Program Date: 2011-12-13