How Can We Develop &
Maintain a Sustainable
Future?
Management Techniques

Conservation: Protecting of resources that
might otherwise be expended with less
responsible pattern of use:
•
•
Includes education of consumer
Incentives to decrease consumption
Preservation
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Provides ample
reserve of resources
for the future use
Different from
conservation which
simply reduces use
of resources
1964 Wilderness Act
Restoration

Bringing a damaged ecosystem back to its
unspoiled, natural condition.
Remediation vs Reclamation


Remediation: Using
chemical, biological,
physical methods to
remove chemically
active (either
hazardous or toxic)
pollutants
Superfund

Reclamation:
Returning
devastated land to a
condition that is
environmentally
useful and
socially/politically
acceptable.
What is the difference between, restoration, remediation,
reclamation?
Mitigation


Refers to finding a
solution to a problem
Establishing another
ecosystem
elsewhere in place of
damage done as a
result of
development
What Services Do The Following
Major Systems Provide?

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Forests
Grasslands/Savannas
Croplands
Wetlands
Desert/Tundra
Coastal Oceans
Coral Reefs
Open Oceans
How Do We Determine Maximum
Sustainable Yield (MSY)?

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The highest possible rate of use that the
system can match with its own rate of
replacement or maintenance.
Important consideration is carrying capacity
Optimal population is half the carrying
capacity
What’s the problem with determining MSY?
What’s Happening to Our Ocean
Ecosystems?

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
Pollution
Overfishing
Destruction of habitat
International Whaling

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Whales were heavily exploited and depleted until 1980s
Only limited whaling allowed by Japan, Norway, Canada,
Alaska and Greenland
Endangered and vulnerable species include: N. Atlantic Right
Whale, Blue Whale, N. Pacific right Whale, Fin, Sei, Bowhead,
Humpback, Gray, & Sperm
Will Aquaculture Be Able to Fill
the Gap?

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Coastal Aquaculture
Open Ocean
Carp, Tilapia, milkfish
and mollusks make up
80% of production
Fishing Methods
Protecting Our National Forests!

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Although we have cut all but 5% of the forests
since the colonists first arrived, deforestation is
no longer a problem in the US
There are more trees today than in 1920
Forests as Obstacles

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Worldwide, only about 10% of forests are protected
Because of El Nino, droughts have led to increased forest fire
(1998 known as “the year the Earth caught fire”)
Difficult to exploit forest for food, therefore conversion to
agriculture is #1 leading cause of deforestation
Between 1960-1990 loss of 20% of tropical forests (up to1.1
billion acres) the size of 2/3 of US
Types of Forest Management

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Silviculture: Objective of producing a specific crop
Clear cutting: removing an entire stand
Selective cutting: some mature trees are removed leaving
behind a diversity of biota
Shelter-wood cutting: cutting mature trees in groups over a
period of 10-20 years.
Ecosystem Management


Clinton administration’s
Forest Service Chief
(Mike Dombeck)
declares no building new
logging roads
Bush administration
announced “Healthy
Forests Initiative”, by
reducing “fuel load”
(shrubs & trees) to
prevent forest fires
Rainforests of the World

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Crucial in maintaining Earth’s climate
Greater economic development & rapid population growth
Indonesia plans to convert 20% of its forests (1 million
hectares)
What
incentives and assistance could the US offer Brazil or
African countries to keep tropical rain forests from further harm
due to conversion?
Sustainable Forest Management
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Plantation of trees for wood or other products
Extractive Reserves: Latex, nuts, fibers fruits
Preserving Forests: Use as tourist attractions
Place forest under the control of indigenous villagers
World Bank: Will finance only logging companies with
sustainable practices, and improve livelihoods of the
millions of poor who live and depend on the forests
Remote Sensing: Using radar and satellite imagery, Brazil
monitors its forests. Forest Resources Assessment 2000
(FRA) measured world forests in this manner
Wetlands
To Development

It would cost more than $100,000 a year to
duplicate the water purification and fish
propagation of a single acre of natural tidal
wetlands