Introduction to Wildlife & Fisheries ConservationWFSC 304

Lecture 6: Ecosystem Services

Pivot from Ecological Economics to Ecosystem Services; June 21 presentations

Ecosystem ServicesBenefits provided to people by ecosystems (Primack)Some examples include: flood control, clean water, crop pollination, etc. Example:Evening grosbeak predation on spruce budworm was worth $4,720/year/square mile (the cost pesticide use would have cost in their absence to save the timber).

Takekawa & Garton (1984) J Forestry 82: 426-428.

Sustainable consumptionMyers N (2000) Science 287:2419 (Time biographical sketch)

Assumptions Consumption patterns will change in the future either by force of

environmental circumstance such as global warming or a host of environmental problems

There will be an increase in consumption by the 3 billion people with incomes of less than $3 per day

Similarly, the 800 million people in developing and transition countries will move into the high-consuming class

Solutions Business sector – if we engage all eco-technologies currently available (e.g.

energy efficiency, pollution controls, waste management, recycling, zero-emission industries), we could enjoy twice as much material welfare, consume half as many natural resources and cause half as much pollution and waste. Instructor’s note: I don’t believe this statement, but skepticism should not be an excuse for inaction.

Eco-technologies (2000) are currently a $600 billion per year industry and on par with the global auto industry

Sustainability Inc. — business idea for entrepreneurial conservationists Abandon gross national product (GNP) as indicator of economic well-being GNP rose 49 % from 1976 to 1998 while “genuine progress” (the economy’s

output with environmental and social costs subtracted and added weight given to education, health, etc.) declined by 30 %

Ensure prices reflect all environmental and social costs. US society ultimately spends $6 to burn a gallon of gasoline when pollution, road accidents, traffic congestion, etc. are included – pricing gasoline realistically would open a huge market for improved public transportation

InterludeExternalities—indirect costs of products not paid by manufacturers

Citizens practice consumptions blind to true costs owing to subsidies in energy, agriculture, water, forest products, fisheries, etc. Worldwide these subsidies total almost $1.5 trillion

Without subsidies, a level playing field would facilitated development of commercially competitive alternatives like solar and wind power

Can consumption patterns be changed?o Difficult to overcome cultural inertia, but examples occur:o In two decades 40 million Americans gave up smokingo Drought-plagued cities have gone “toilet-to-tap”o Cricket-protein power bars are succeeding (link)

o 20 years ago bottled water sounded like pet rocks—totally stupid

Essay on oil subsidies

Tamminen says American oil subsidies are worth $2,704 annually per capita

Notes surprising similarities to tobacco

Ecosystem services Primary production - photosynthesis Climate control Flood control Nutrient cycling Biodegradation of matter Pollination Soil formation and retention Disease regulation Predator-prey interactions

Example

New York City is investing $250 million to purchase land to prevent development and paying $100 million per year to minimize water pollution – the goal to protect its drinking water supply

The alternative? Invest $4 to 5 billion USD for a new water filtration plant and $250 million USD each year to run the facility

– The Economist – 23 April 2005 (pp.76-78) Reminds me of water project in Benin where the government payed for

water projects in rural villages because lack of water quality was causing the poor to migrate to city fringes, using the water there and causing shortages

Costanza et al (Nature 387:253-260, 1997) Summed value estimates ($ per hectare) for 17 types of services across 16

major types of ecosystemsCoral reefs serve up $6,000 / ha per year

($3,000 for recreation, $2750 for disturbance regulation by blocking storm waves, $60 for waste treatment, plus 9 other services)

Tropical forests serve $2,000 / ha per year for 14 servicesOpen oceans – $250 / ha per year. At 30 billion ha, that is $8 trillion. Tundra was not discussed because no estimates were available.

But think it through. What do we know about tundra more recently

“Economists see the environment as a subset of the economy.Ecologists…see the economy as a subset of the environment.”

L. Brown (2001, Eco-Economy, Earth Policy Institute)

“Socialism collapsed because it did not allow prices to tell the economic truth.Capitalism may collapse because it does not allow prices to tell the ecological truth.”

Oystein Dahle, retired Vice-President of Esso in the North Sea

Videos assigned:European perspectives (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMIUglBligI) [3:28]

Vivid perspective and clean exposition (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8AZHtF2f50) [7:05]This is part of an 11-part video series by this NGO (Conservation Strategy Fund).All are excellent and any number are recommended, though not required.