Transcript Environment

By: Nicole Torres Elsa Aguirre Thomas LaFramboise
today, consists of
many
millions of distinct
biological
species - the product of four
billion years of evolution.
Biodiversity takes a look into the
importance to life and provides
modern
audiences with a clear
understanding of the current threat
to life on Earth.
Biodiversity is often used as a
measure of the
health of
biological systems.
State of the World 2008 - Chapter Nine: Section 1
Biodiversity is the variation of life
forms
within
a
given
ecosystem, biome or for the
entire
Earth.
Biodiversity
found on Earth
Air Quality
Climate
Water Purification
Disease Control
Biological Pest Control
Pollination
Prevention of Erosion
Non-Material Benefits:
Spiritual and Aesthetic Values
Knowledge Systems
State of the World 2008 - Chapter Nine: Section 1
Benefits from the natural ecosystem
process:
Protecting the world’s biodiversity requires us to
answer these questions…would you rather the U.S.
continue to have more bowling alleys and Apple
stores that sell nifty electronics, OR would you rather
have wetlands that buffer our coasts against storms,
filters water, and provides nesting grounds for our
bird and How much would you be willing to pay to
protect an endangered species…….
The Delhi Sands Flower-Loving fly, a rather
pretty insect, like a butterfly hovers around and
sips nectar from different local flowers. This tiny
creature has the distinction of being the first flyand only the seventeenth insect-to be declared
an endangered species in the U.S.
Shortly after this fly was listed as an endangered
species, construction of a hospital in Colton, CA
came to a halt. The hospitals plans of paving
over 7 acres of occupied fly habitat all of a
sudden became illegal. The hospital was then
forced to spend $4 million redrawing its plans,
moving its parking lot 250 ft. and making a few
other changes, all so it wouldn’t harm a fly.
FOR EXAMPLE
This fly is currently involved in a series of legal
battles over how much people in Colton, CA
should be prepared to pay to save this
endangered fly.
*Now for a local Example of Banking on Biodiversity*
•Right here in Southwest Florida, banking on biodiversity became a
problem. In the small town of Lehigh Acres, there was a Church called
New Life Assembly of God. Their congregation was exceeding over 500
people is both services combined so they started planning to look for
another location to begin building another church. Finally when they
found a generous portion of land and were about to break ground on it,
they were told that the land was the habitat of about 25 tortoises. In
order for the church to continue building, they were told that to move
each tortoise it would cost them $70,000 per tortoise, and if they did not
pay they could not continue to build on the land. This made them change
their mind extremely quickly and they were forced to look for a different
location to build their church.
A market created by the government that is now
worth $3billion.
Created in the 1970s when 2 Laws were passed.
Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 to be exact which
attempts to prevent the placement of dredged and
filling materials into the waters of the U.S
Endangered Species Act
The Result a Wetland Mitigation Bank.
Organizations that create these wetlands and in turn
sell them for profit to organizations in need
What does this Law mean?
In order to build on Wetlands that the Government
feels should be protected clearing from the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers and the EPA is necessary
If and when clearing is established a similar wetland
of equal size or greater must be “ created, enhanced,
or restored.”
Not all Wetlands are the same someone building in
California cannot protect a wetland in New Jersey
State of the World – Chapter 9: Section 2
What is Wetland Mitigation?
A mitigation bank is a wetland, stream, or other aquatic resource area that
has been restored, established, enhanced, or (in certain circumstances)
preserved for the purpose of providing compensation for unavoidable
impacts to aquatic resources permitted under Section 404 or a similar state
or local wetland regulation.
Mitigation banks have four distinct components:
•The bank site; the physical acreage restored, established, enhanced, or
preserved
•The bank instrument: the formal agreement between the bank owners and
regulators establishing liability, performance standards, management &
monitoring requirements, and the terms of bank credit approval;
•The Interagency Review Team (IRT): the interagency team that provides
regulatory review, approval, and oversight of the bank;
•The service area: the geographic area in which permitted impacts can be
compensated for at a given bank.
There is Wetland Mitigation Banking
across the U.S. But is it really fair to
assign a dollar value to biodiversity?
When this is what happens:
A study of 12 Ohio Banks found that it
is obviously not being monitored
closely enough. Only 3 banks passed
the requirements and 5 passed in
some areas but not others, the
remaining 4 failed completely.
A 2005 inventory by the Corps'
Institute
for
Water
Resources
estimates a total of 450 approved
mitigation banks (59 of which have
sold out of credits) and an additional
198 banks in the proposal stage. Since
this survey counted umbrella banks as
a single bank, the number of bank
sites is likely considerably larger than
this estimate.
The Katy-Cypress Wetlands Mitigation Bank (KCWMB) is one of the nation's first
privately owned facilities which allows landowners to meet federal and state wetland
guidelines. KCWMB is an important resource for the environment because it is
committed to the business of building and maintaining high-quality wetlands. Over one
hundred and thirty acres of upland prairie have been converted into wetlands by
building numerous levees, berms and diversion dams to regulate the amount and flow of
water across the property. Three tributaries surround the wetlands, which include
ponds, natural grasses and hydrophilic plants that create tremendous wildlife habitat.
Herons and wading birds feed on crawfish, frogs, insects and plants found throughout
the site. Ducks and geese use it as a resting and feeding stop during their long winter
migrations. Deer nibble on tender plant shoots while raccoons and opossums search for
food at night.
KCWMB is a Commercial Wetlands Mitigation Bank approved by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers. It is privately owned and does not receive any public funds. By law, any
developer who develops land containing jurisdictional wetlands must mitigate this
impact by creating new wetlands. Such traditional wetland mitigation is a long and
expensive process with a high rate of failure. Alternatively, landowners can buy wetland
credits from KCWMB, thereby expediting their wetland permitting process while
eliminating most of the costs and liability issues surrounding wetland mitigation.
Governmental agencies benefit by consolidating their oversight of many small, poorly
designed projects into one large, professionally managed mitigation bank. At the same
time, society benefits by having the assurance that new, successfully created wetlands
have been set aside to compensate for any impact to wetlands during land development.
There are several Mitigation Banks in SWFL. One of them is the Corkscrew
Regional Mitigation Bank
The 635 acres owned by South Florida Water Management District permitted and
developed by Mariner Properties Development, Inc. under contract with the
District.
The primary consultant in the property assessments, restoration design, agency
coordination, and permitting of this regional mitigation bank.
Restoration of over 390 acres of drained pastureland to a native hydric pine system
matrix containing cypress, marsh, prairie, wetland hardwood, and upland
areas.
Approximately 240 acres of native wetlands and uplands will be enhanced through
hydrological improvements, exotic vegetation control and maintenance,
and implementation of prescribed burns.
Corkscrew Regional Mitigation Bank will provide freshwater, forested, and
herbaceous credits that may be used to offset project impacts within
portions of Lee, Hendry, and Collier Counties.
Activities are conducted under the direct supervision of the QMS (Kevin L. Erwin)
with site visits occurring on an as needed basis each week (typically daily).
These activities focused on securing the site, managing surface water on-site,
removing the exotics, seeding, planting, prescribed burning, GPS data
collection, contracting and supervising subcontractors, and monitoring.
How does the United States compare to
the rest of the world?
The United States
adopted Wetland
Mitigation through the
Clean Water Act
(1972)
This states, “No overall
loss of values and
functions,” “net gain.”
(2004)
We also adopted
Species Mitigation
through the
Endangered Species
Act of 1973
To offset adverse
impacts to
threatened and
endangered species.
“Private landowners in Costa Rica who
protect their forest cover receive a
payment from the National Forestry Trust
Fund”
State of the World – Chapter 9: Section 3
Government Programs:
Benefits and Drawbacks
The winner receives a special prize!!!