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Water funds seek to promote long-term watershed conservation with multiple benefits for biodiversity and human well-being. This approach has grown rapidly, particularly in Latin America where more than 30 water funds were in operation or development by 2014. To meet the need for evidence to guide ongoing decisions, we assessed the goals and strategies of 16 programs that were operating in 2013–2014 in association with the Latin American Water Funds Partnership. Our findings underscore the diversity within this approach to investment in watershed services. The various financial, governance, and management mechanisms adopted by these programs reflected their distinct biophysical, socio-economic, and political contexts. All 16 water funds aimed to secure water quality (15/16) and/or quantity (including the timing of flows) (14/16). The majority of programs also explicitly strived for co-benefits to local livelihoods (9/16) and biodiversity (11/16). Public funding secured through legislation provided the most funding to date, but private, NGO, and development bank source were also important for some programs. While programs have actively engaged rural land stewards, this stakeholder group was represented on governance boards in just 4 of 16 funds. Additionally, while the majority of water funds with activities on the ground (13/16) reported biophysical and social impact monitoring (8/16), many faced significant logistical, technical, and funding challenges to its implementation. We recommend greater inclusion of rural land stewards on governance boards, increased engagement of the private sector, and a sustained commitment to an evidence-based approach to increase the likelihood that programs will attain their goals.

Com o objetivo de subsidiar futuros estudos de dinâmica da vegetação e efeitos das mudanças climáticas, realizou-se um levantamento florístico do componente arbóreo em área de Floresta Ombrófila Densa da Reserva Natural do Rio Cachoeira, em Antonina, Paraná. O levantamento foi realizado em 187 parcelas permanentes, que representam 23,5 ha amostrados. Foram identificadas 306 espécies distribuídas em 68 famílias. A zoocoria foi a síndrome de dispersão mais comum (81,7% das espécies). Espécies tolerantes à sombra superaram discretamente as não tolerantes (50,3% e 49,7%, respectivamente). Espécies de distribuição geográfica ampla representaram quase metade do total (48,4%). Desse conjunto florístico, 21 espécies encontram-se sob alguma categoria de risco de extinção, o que representa 6,9% do universo encontrado, valor maior que o verificado na maioria dos estudos conduzidos nessa mesma formação (em torno de 2%). Essa situação reflete os efeitos da pressão contínua a que a floresta está sujeita, onde a superexplotação de essências nativas ao longo dos anos, associada à deterioração da floresta por meio da fragmentação e da perda de hábitats, resulta em maior risco à conservação de espécies do bioma.Palavras-chave: Floresta Ombrófila Densa; florística; espécies ameaçadas; síndromes de dispersão. AbstractTree species from an Atlantic Forest remnant in Antonina, Paraná, Southern Brazil. Aiming to support new vegetation dynamics and climate change studies, a floristic survey of the tree species was conducted in the Atlantic Forest at Rio Cachoeira Natural Reserve, in Antonina municipality, Southern Brazil. The survey was intensified in 187 permanent plots, representing 23.5 ha of sampled area. The floristic collection was represented by 306 tree species, distributed in 68 families. Zoochory was the most common dispersion syndrome (81.7%). According to the shadow tolerance, 50.3% of the species were tolerant, while non-tolerant species were 49.7%. Wide geographical distribution species represented almost half of all this floristic set (48.4%).Threatened species were 6.9% of all species found (21), a higher value than that one reported to other studies on this forest type (around 2%). This situation shows the effects of continuous pressure on the forest, as the over exploitation of the vegetation through the years, associated to the forest damage by fragmentation and habitat loss process leads to the higher risks for species conservation on this biome.Keywords: Ombrophilous Dense Forest; floristic composition; threatened species; dispersion ways.

The Nature Conservancy is participating in a Cooperative Agreement with the Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to explore the compatibility of carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems and the conservation of biodiversity. The title of the research project is ''Application and Development of Appropriate Tools and Technologies for Cost-Effective Carbon Sequestration''. The objectives of the project are to: (1) improve carbon offset estimates produced in both the planning and implementation phases of projects; (2) build valid and standardized approaches to estimate project carbon benefits at a reasonable cost; and (3) lay the groundwork for implementing cost-effective projects, providing new testing ground for biodiversity protection and restoration projects that store additional atmospheric carbon. This Technical Progress Report discusses preliminary results of the six specific tasks that The Nature Conservancy is undertaking to answer research needs while facilitating the development of real projects with measurable greenhouse gas reductions. The research described in this report occurred between April 1st and July 30th 2006. The specific tasks discussed include: Task 1: carbon inventory advancements; Task 2: emerging technologies for remote sensing of terrestrial carbon; Task 3: baseline method development; Task 4: third-party technical advisory panel meetings; Task 5: new project feasibility more » studies; and Task 6: development of new project software screening tool. Work is being carried out in Brazil, Belize, Chile, Peru and the USA. « less

The Nature Conservancy is participating in a Cooperative Agreement with the Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to explore the compatibility of carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems and the conservation of biodiversity. The title of the research project is ''Application and Development of Appropriate Tools and Technologies for Cost-Effective Carbon Sequestration''. The objectives of the project are to: (1) improve carbon offset estimates produced in both the planning and implementation phases of projects; (2) build valid and standardized approaches to estimate project carbon benefits at a reasonable cost; and (3) lay the groundwork for implementing cost-effective projects, providing new testing ground for biodiversity protection and restoration projects that store additional atmospheric carbon. This Technical Progress Report discusses preliminary results of the six specific tasks that The Nature Conservancy is undertaking to answer research needs while facilitating the development of real projects with measurable greenhouse gas impacts. The research described in this report occurred between July 1, 2002 and June 30, 2003. The specific tasks discussed include: Task 1: carbon inventory advancements; Task 2: advanced videography testing; Task 3: baseline method development; Task 4: third-party technical advisory panel meetings; Task 5: new project feasibility studies; and Task 6: development of new project software screening tool.

The Nature Conservancy is participating in a Cooperative Agreement with the Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to explore the compatibility of carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems and the conservation of biodiversity. The title of the research projects is ''Application and Development of Appropriate Tools and Technologies for Cost-Effective Carbon Sequestration''. The objectives of the project are to: (1) improve carbon offset estimates produced in both the planning and implementation phases of projects; (2) build valid and standardized approaches to estimate project carbon benefits at a reasonable cost; and (3) lay the groundwork for implementing cost-effective projects, providing new testing ground for biodiversity protection and restoration projects that store additional atmospheric carbon. This Technical Progress Report discusses preliminary results of the six specific tasks that The Nature Conservancy is undertaking to answer research needs while facilitating the development of real projects with measurable greenhouse gas impacts. The specific tasks discussed include: Task 1: carbon inventory advancements; Task 2: advanced videography testing; Task 3: baseline method development; Task 4: third-party technical advisory panel meetings; Task 5: new project feasibility studies; and Task 6: development of new project software screening tool.