Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future Richard T. Wright

1. Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable FutureRichard T. Wright Chapter 11 Ecosystem Capital: Use and Restoration PPT by Clark E. Adams

2. Ecosystem Capital: Use and Restoration • Global perspective on biological systems • Conservation, preservation, restoration • Biomes and ecosystems under pressure • Public and private lands in the United States

3. What We Need to Know about Ecosystems • How they sustain human life and economies • Positive and negative effects of ecosystem conversions • Sustainable approaches to ecosystem management

5. Natural Ecosystems on Earth’s Surface: Table 11-1 • Total land area: 57.6 million square miles • Total ocean area: 172.6 million square miles – mostly open ocean

6. Services of Natural Ecosystems (see Table 3-2) • Modification of climate • Maintenance of hydrological cycle • Erosion control and soil building

7. Services of Natural Ecosystems (see Table 3-2) • Maintenance of oxygen and nitrogen cycles • Waste treatment • Pest management • Carbon storage and maintenance of carbon cycle

8. Wetland Services • Valued at $100,000 per acre per year • Water purification and fish propagation

9. Conservation, Preservation, Restoration • Conservation versus preservation • Patterns of use of natural ecosystems • Restoration

10. Conservation versus Preservation • Conservation: managing or regulating use so that it does not exceed the capacity of the species or system to renew itself • Preservation: ensure species or ecosystem continuity regardless of their potential utility

11. Patterns of Use of Natural Ecosystems

12. Patterns of Human Use of Natural Resources (True or False) • Greed • Ignorance • Desperation • Sustainability • Mining the resource • Managing the resource • Unregulated access to resource

13. Tragedy of the Commons • Begins with unregulated access to a resource owned by no one. Examples? • Harvest based on largest amount over the shortest period of time. • No thought given to sustainable harvests. • Usually ends with no resource for anyone.

14. Preventing a Tragedy of the Commons • Private ownership • Regulated access • Sustained benefits • Fairness in access rights • Common consent of the regulated

15. Principles Incorporated into Public Policies to Protect Natural Resources (Table 11-2) • Natural resources cannot be treated as an open commons. • Sound science needed to assess health and level of resource use. • Precautionary principle should be used in setting limits for exploitation.

16. Principles Incorporated into Public Policies to Protect Natural Resources (Table 11-2) • Regulations should be enforced. • Economic incentives that encourage the violation of regulations should be eliminated. • Subsidies that support exploitation should be removed.

17. Principles Incorporated into Public Policies to Protect Natural Resources (Table 11-2) • Suitable habitats for the resource should be preserved and protected from pollution. • The sustenance needs of people living close to the resource should be met.

18. Restoration • The intent of ecosystem restoration is to repair the damage to specific land and waters so that normal ecosystem integrity, resilience, and productivity returns.

19. Biomes and Ecosystems under Pressure • Forest biomes • Ocean ecosystems • Coral reefs and mangroves

20. Forest Biomes • Conserve biodiversity • Moderate regional climates • Prevent erosion • Store carbon and nutrients • Provide recreational opportunities • Provide a number of vital goods

21. World Forest Biomes

22. Causes of Deforestation • Conversion into pastures and agricultural lands • Consequences? (next slide)

23. Consequences of Deforestation Productivity Nutrient recycling Biodiversity Soil erosion Transpiration Air pollution More Deforestation or Less

24. Silviculture: Forest Management with Harvest Goals • Even-aged management • Clear-cutting: no tree left behind • Uneven-aged management • Selective cutting

25. Causes of the Loss of Tropical Rain Forests • Colonization: consolidation of agricultural lands • Huge national debts • Fast food chains and cheap hamburger

26. Conserving Tropical Rain Forests • Ecotourism • Extractive reserves • Management by indigenous people • Rubber plantations • Sustainable logging

27. Sustainable Forest Management • Manage for sustainable outcomes • Teach others • Protect the health of the forest • Recognize and protect unique forest ecosystems • Strive to be better forest managers

28. Ocean Ecosystems 75% of the Earth’s surface An international commons?

29. Global Fish Harvests 139 million metric tons by 2001

30. Fisheries in Distress: Cod Landings from Georges Bank, 1982–2000

31. Fisheries Problems: Bottom Trawling Too many boats High technology Too few fish

32. The Magnuson Conservation Act of 1976 • Gave federal government authority to manage fisheries • Claimed the area between 3 and 200 miles offshore as the “Exclusive Economic Zone”

33. The Magnuson Conservation Act of 1976 • Designed to eliminate foreign fishing • Designed to restore and conserve fish http://images.fws.gov/

34. Sustainable Fisheries Act • The 1996 reauthorization of the Magnuson Act • Mandates that fish stocks be rebuilt • Management plans and yields be based on scientific data • Steps be taken to minimize bycatch

36. Factors That Restored Whale Populations (True or False) • International Whaling Commission • The Red Data Book • Whale watching • Japan’s scientific research • Stellwagen bank http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/animals/

37. Mangroves • Protects coasts from storm damage and erosion • Forms rich refuge and nursery for marine fish

38. Coral Reefs • Important food sources for local people • Wave erosion control • Great diversity of marine vertebrates and invertebrates

39. Sources of Damage to Coral Reefs • Warm water • Eutrophication • Islander poverty • Logging • Shrimp aquaculture • Coastal development

40. Public and Private Lands in the United States • National parks and national wildlife refuges • National forests • Protecting nonfederal lands • Conclusion

41. Federal Lands (40%) in the U.S.

42. The Greater Yellowstone Coalition

43. Wilderness Act of 1964 • Provides for permanent protection of undeveloped and unexploited areas so that natural ecological processes can operate freely • 5% of land area in U.S. • Preservation, not conservation

44. National Forests • Only 5% of the original U.S. forests are left • Most U.S. forests are second growth http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/lassen/fire/gallery/

45. Environmental Concerns Reagan Clinton Post WW II Housing Boom

46. New Forestry = Ecosystem Management • Cut trees less frequently • Leave wider buffer zones along waterways • Leave dead logs and debris • Protect broader landscapes • Build no new roads until damage to old ones is addressed

47. Protecting Nonfederal Lands • Land Trust Alliance • Nature Conservancy • Trustees of Reservations in Massachusetts

48. Conclusions? • We are plundering our children’s heritage to pay for our present unsustainable practices. • We need a new ethic of stewardship. • U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan

49. End of Chapter 11