The Costa Rican experience with market instruments to mitigate climate change and conserve biodiversity

Two decades of developing relevant legal and institutional regimes for the sustainable and nondestructive use of natural resources have framed Costa R ica's pioneer approach to mitigate climate change and conserve its rich bio logical diversity. This policy framework provides an appropriate context fo r the actual and proposed development of market instruments designed to att ract capital investments for carbon sequestration and biodiversity conserva tion, and allows the establishment of mechanisms to use those funds to comp ensate owners for the environmental services provided by their land. As a d eveloping economy, Costa Rica is striving to internalize the benefits from the environmental services it offers, as a cornerstone of its sustainable d evelopment strategy.