Ecosystem payments have been proffered as a key tool to effectively protect biodiversity, mitigate greenhouse gases, protect water sources, and maintain and improve the scenic beauty of a country. Costa Rica presents one of the first national efforts to successfully establish ecosystem payments to protect critical habitats. Speakers Michael Jenkins and Dr. Alvaro Umaña provide an overview of ecosystem payment and speak specifically to the success of the ecosystem payments program developed and implemented in Costa Rica.
Alvaro Umaña, PhD is the Counselor for Central America and Belize at the Inter-American Development Bank. He is the former director of the Environmentally Sustainable Development Group at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York. He was the first Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Costa Rica under President Oscar Arias. Previously he was director, professor, and founder of the Natural Resources Program of the Instituto Centroamericano de Administracion de Empresas in Alajuela. Dr. Umaña received a Ph.D. in environmental engineering from Stanford University.
Michael Jenkins is President of Forest Trends. From 1989-1999, he was the Associate Director for the Global Security and Sustainability Program of the MacArthur Foundation. Michael's previous responsibilities include a joint appointment as a Senior Forestry Advisor to the World Bank Agroforester in Haiti with the USAID and a technical advisor with Appropriate Technology. In the late 1970s, Michael was a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay working in agriculture, apiculture, and forestry projects. Michael has contributed to a number of books and articles, and with Island Press published "The Business of Sustainable Forestry: Strategies for an Industry in Transition." He holds a Master's of Forest Science from Yale University.
