| If we can align conservation with economic incentives, conservation will become mainstream. This dissertation addresses the challenges of how to pay for conservation in human-dominated landscapes and how to allocate limited funds effectively for conservation through three case studies of restoration opportunities in Hawaii.; The first chapter explores techniques for designing business strategies to advance conservation on private, working lands. Specifically, I examined opportunities to reforest existing pasturelands in Hawaii with a native tree (Acacia koa) that is ecologically, economically, and culturally important. Through financial modeling, I quantified the profitability of a suite of business strategies that incorporate timber and conservation revenue streams available to landowners undertaking reforestation. My results identified risk-efficient strategies that provide "win-win" opportunities to achieve conservation while meeting landowners' financial needs.; The second chapter develops an ecological-economic framework for identifying cost-effective investments in ecological restoration. I used this framework to evaluate the attractiveness of six restoration transitions towards native forest based upon their associated restoration costs and expected benefits for supporting two potential metrics of conservation value: native forest birds and understory plants. Importantly, I found that the cost-effectiveness of restoration is highly goal-dependent. Restoring partial tree cover on pasturelands is most cost-effective for birds, while restoring native forest is most cost-effective for plants.; The third chapter scales up from the parcel to the landscape-level and explores the potential of endowment and endowment-like financial instruments to provide sustained financing to pay for large-scale restoration. My results show that both the type of financial instrument and the targets of restoration impact the amount of area that can be restored for a given capital base. This analysis highlights the opportunity presented by long-term financial instruments to finance large-scale restoration, as well as the importance of carefully considering restoration targets for choosing an appropriate financial instrument. |
