Conservation and Sustainable Development at the Local Level
sustainable development -economic development that satisfies needs for
resources and employment but minimizes impacts on diversity
-economic development NOT economic growth, which increases the amount of
resources used
-many large corporations have misused the concept of sustainable development
to "greenwash" their industrial activities without any change in practice
Ex. A huge mining complex is justified by setting aside a small percentage of
land as a park
-some conservation biologists have went to opposite extremes advocating that
vast areas of the world be shut off from all development
Policy and laws have been designed to promote sustainability and conservation at
local, national, and international levels
20.1 Sustainable development-a balance between both worlds.
Conservation and Sustainable Development at the Local Level
Local (city, town, county, state) Conservation
1. Laws
-hunting and fishing laws
-laws that control the way local lands are used
1) restrictions on land use or access to sensitive habitats
2) burn bans in certain areas
3) zoning laws that prevent construction in sensitive habitats
4) environmental impact statements on government lands or projects that
receive government funds
5) regulation of manufacturing, mining, transportation, and waste disposal
Local Conservation
2. Government and Nongovernment organizations (NGOs) programs
-NGOs are growing in number Figure 20.2
-land trusts are private, nonprofit corporations established to protect land
and natural resources
-examples include local or national organizations such as Nature
Conservancy and Audubon Society (latter two combined protect 10
million ha (25 million acres)
-criticized as being elitist because they remove land from productive use
and often lower revenues collected from land taxes but loss of tax
revenue is often offset by increased values of properties adjacent to
conservation areas
-land trusts also form conservation easements where landowners give up
the right to develop or subdivide their property in exchange for money
(usually from a trust), lower real estate taxes, or some other tax benefit.
- NGOs and governments can also provide conservation leasing, banking,
and payment for ecosystem services (PES)
20.2 Enormous growth in the number of international nongovernment organizations since 1950
Local Conservation
Conservation leasing and banking
-lease payments to private landowners that actively manage their land for
biodiversity
Ex. Conservation Reserve Program or CRP, Conservation subsidies from
the Federal government to ranchers to maintain prairie pasture with
minimal fertilizer and nutrient runoff as well as lowered productivity
Ex. PES funded by United State Department of Agriculture and private
foundations where ranchers in Florida Everglades are paid for lower
productivity because they use native prairie pasture and little fertilizer,
which results in less eutrophication
Fig. 20.3
Figure 20.3 Conservation subsidies for native prairie pasture that is less productive
Figure 20.3 Different regulations and management styles can have different outcomes for
conservation
National Conservation
1. laws
-set standards to limit environmemtal pollution National Environmental
Protection Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act
-protect biodiversity Ex. CITES- Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species and Endangered Species Act (ESA)
Ex. CITES protects green sea turtles in Costa Rica and ESA whooping cranes in
Texas Figures 20.5 & 20.6
20.5 Greater numbers of green turtles have been nesting at Tortuguero Beach in Costa Rica
following protective measures by CITES
Figure 20.6 Endangered species will often require active management as part of the recovery
process
The longer species have been listed with ESA, the greater the probability
of improving in status (ex. whooping crane) and the lower the
probability of continuing to decline (ex. Indiana bat) Figure 20.7
Trends and numbers related to ESA
-Since 1973 1519 (1500) U.S. species added to the list and as of 2014,
146 species are candidates under consideration for listing
-only a few U. S. species have been de-listed. Greatest success is with the
brown pelican, American peregine falcon, and American alligator. In
2007, the bald eagle was moved from the list as it had increased in
number from 400 breeding pairs in 1960 to about 9000.
-overall, most listed species are declining in numbers and about 20% are
of unknown status due to insufficient status
-biggest problem is funding and while funding has been growing, the
number of species protected under ESA has been growing even faster,
so there is less money available per species than ever before
-importance of adequate funding for species recovery is shown by the fact
that priority species have a higher probability of improved status than
those with less priority and funding
-another problem is that 10% of listed species are exclusively on
private land and 60% of listed species are found predominantly on
private land. ESA funding needs to be extended to private
landowners that want to protect threatened or endangered species
Amendments to the Act
1978- cabinet-level committee "God Squad" has the power to exclude
certain populations of endangered species from protection
-tries to reach compromises between economic interests and conservation
priorities
1982- Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP)
-plans drawn up by developers, conservation groups, and local
governments to develop compromises that reconcile both conservation
and business interests
-plans must be approved by USFWS
Ex. HCP in Riverside County CA allows developers to build within the
historic range of the endangered Stephen's kangaroo rat if they
contribute to a fund that will be used to buy wildlife sanctuaries
-in 1991, CA passed the Natural Community Conservation Planning Act
which has one plan to protect highly developed coastal sage scrub with
the California gnatcatcher and about 100 other species of concern
Figure 20.8
20.8 (A) In southern CA, a Natural Community Conservation Plan has been established to protect
the California gnatcatcher from (B) development and fragmentation in southern CA
Case Study using Texas Kangaroo Rat
Species listing and associated examples from IUCN
TPWD database and information
Natureserve
USFWS