Environmental Policy Comparison of Wetlands

1. Environmental Policy Comparison of Wetlands Dan Schory, Nikki Ashkin , Alison Clements & Chris Bentley

2. Topics of Discussion • Science of Wetlands • Why wetlands matter • US wetland policies • Canada wetland policies • UK wetland policies • Comparison of Policy Tools • Questions

3. Science of Wetlands • What are wetlands • EPA, USA: “Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas.”

4. Science of Wetlands • What are wetlands, cont’d • Natural Resource, Canada: “Wetlands, which occupy 6% of the earth's land and freshwater surface, play a major role in maintaining the stability of the global environment. They nurture hundreds of different species and provide the critical breeding and rearing habitat for a wide diversity of wildlife.”

5. Science of Wetlands • What are wetlands? • Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, UK: “They are transitional habitats between dry land and deep water including marshes, swamps, peatlands (including bogs, and fens), flood meadows, lakes and ponds, rivers and streams, estuaries and other coastal waters (including salt marshes, mangroves and even coral reefs).”

6. Science of Wetlands • Types of wetlands • Marshes • Tidal/Non-tidal: most biologically diverse • Distinguishing characteristic: Non-woody plants • Bogs/Peatlands • Distinguishing characteristic: Acidic and lined with peat • Fens • Distinguishing characteristic: Like bogs except higher pH and capable of sustaining more life • Swamps • Forested/Shrub • Distinguishing characteristic: Woody plants like trees and shrubs

7. Locations of Wetland Areas • US • 95% of wetlands are freshwater systems • 51% are freshwater marshes • Canada • 85% are bogs

8. Why Wetlands Matter • Hot bed of biodiversity • Most productive ecosystems in the world • Size isn’t everything • Over half of endangered species rely on wetlands • Human reliance of wetlands • 75% of population live on former wetlands • Wetland products • Rice connection • Source of fuel • Water sources and natural filtration

9. Market failures associated with Wetlands • Public goods • Underprovided by market because: • Nonexcludable • Nonrival • Information Asymmetry • Moral Hazard • Externalities • Property right issues

10. US Wetland Policies

11. History of Wetlands in the US • 107.7 million acres (43.6 ha) in continental US in 2004 • 5.5% of total land area Source: http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/impacts/hydrology/wetlands/

12. Average Annual Net Loss and Gain

13. Wetlands Gained and Lost by Land Use 0

14. "No Net Loss" Policy • Achieve a balance of wetland loss with replacements of the degradation of those habitats on a project-by-project basis • Maintain a constant level or increase of the total acreage of wetlands • Focus on: • Wetland mitigation • Enhancement • Creation • Reallocation • Restoration

15. Section 404 of the Clean Water Act • Policy tool: command and control • Regulates discharge into “waters of the US” • Dredge or fill permits • Rapanos v. United States • Challenged federal jurisdiction to classify wetlands or tributaries as “waters of the US” should be extended beyond “navigable waters of the US” under the CWA

16. Wetlands Mitigation Banking • Policy tool: offset approach • Wetland mitigation is almost always required and can works through a permit-based system for those who want to fill a wetland • Puts a price on “wetland ecosystem services” by developing a private market scheme which can be done on a state or local level • Two main issues: • Definition • Governance

17. Wetland Reserve Program • Policy Tool: subsidies • Compensates farmers for wetlands preservation and restoration on their property • Swampbuster Program • Denies subsidies to farmers who convert wetlands to agricultural land

18. Provision of Public Information • Education and awareness of wetland values and functions • The Fish and Wildlife Service provides scientific information to the public • EPA’s Five-Star Restoration Program • Brings together students, conservation corps, other youth groups, citizen groups, corporations, landowners and government agencies to provide environmental education and training through projects that restore wetlands and streams • Offers grants and encourages information transparency between restoration projects and community education

19. Canada Wetland Policy

20. Wetlands in Canada • 24% of the world’s wetlands are in Canada • 14% of Canada is covered by wetlands • Since 1800, 20 million hectares, or 15% total, of wetlands have been loss

21. History of Wetlands Protection in Canada • First government in the World to announce a wetland policy • Established Federal Policy on Wetland Conservation • No net loss of wetland functions on federal lands and waters • No further loss of wetland area where wetland loss has been severe • Enhancement and rehabilitation of wetlands in areas where the continuing loss or degradation of wetlands has reached critical levels

22. Provincial Wetlands Policy • Statutes • Land use planning, protected areas designation and wildlife management • No jurisdiction has a specific wetland protection statute • Example: Alberta’s Wetland Mitigation Banking: “A process to reduce loss of wetland by avoiding impacts to the wetland, minimizing impacts and requiring applicable compensation; and compensating for impacts that cannot be avoided or minimized.” • Mitigation Hierarchy • Avoidance, Minimization and Compensation

23. Policy Tools used for Wetland Protection • Policy Tool: Subsidy • Tax Incentives • Policy Tool: Voluntary programs • Conservation Organizations • Policy Tool: Public Education Programs • Public awareness programs • Policy Tool: Offsets • Mitigation Banking

24. Constraints in Regulation • Constitutional constraints • Federal Government of Canada has no legal tools to require mitigation in areas of the provincial jurisdiction • Geographical/Political Boundaries • Lack of uniform regulatory efforts can compromise the "efficiency and overall effectiveness" of the system • Lack of a comprehensive national inventory and monitoring program of all of its wetlands • Impossible to assess the effectiveness of wetland policies and mitigation programs or to track no net loss objective

25. United Kingdom Wetland Policies

26. What does Wetlands Policy mean in the UK context? EU- Birds Directive Heritage Coasts National Parks EU- Ramsar Convention Comprehensive Legal Framework National Nature Reserves Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty EU- Water Framework Directive EU- Habitats Directive Sites of Special Scientific Interest

27. What does Wetlands Policy mean in the UK context?

28. How can we make sense of it? First, how is land governed in the UK? European Union United Kingdom Local Governments Agencies with statutory powers Non governmental Organisations

29. Make any more sense? Not for me either What legislation enables wetland conservation in the UK? Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 (amended 1991) Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc.) Regulations, 1994 Wild Mammals Protection Act, 1996 Conservation of Seals Act, 1970

30. What does wetland policy mean in the UK? • Protecting species • Conservation of designated sites • Conservation of seals • … • …

32. U.S., U.K., Canada Comparisons Offsets Subsidies Command and Control Taxes Public Education Shaming X-prizes Voluntary Programs Tradable Allowances Technology Standards

33. What do we learn? • Many similarities between Canada and US • No net loss • Offsetting programs • Public education • UK? • We’re not quite sure • Better to say, “We don’t know” then do act like we do and be wrong

34. Questions?