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Vol. 1, No. 2: June 28, 2007
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Putting Out to Sea
This marks the second edition of the Ecosystem Marketplace's new monthly newsletter about Water, Environment and Trading. In our first issue, we spotlighted some of the many articles we have published focusing on watershed restoration and water quality trading in river systems, lakes and bays. In this issue, we move further offshore to consider some of the market-based conservation strategies under development in the marine realm. Before scrolling to the features, however, we encourage you to take note of the W.E.T stories that have broken this month in world headlines. From Coca-Cola's new push for global river restoration to the Packard Foundation's new approach to identifying robust strategies for addressing nitrogen pollution, this edition of W.E.T. suggests necessity really is the mother of invention. And this, we think, is a fortunate fact given that riparian and marine conservation is more necessary today than it has ever been.
— The Ecosystem Marketplace Team
For questions or comments, please contact newsletter@ecosystemmarketplace.com
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Citing Justices, EPA Curbs Wetlands Protections
On June 5, the Bush administration narrowed the scope of the Clean Water Act to include only those streams and wetlands with a “significant nexus” connecting them to a more traditional waterway (read: somewhere you could float a commercial boat). Other smaller streams and wetlands will not be protected under new guidance issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. "This guidance adds unnecessary and unintended hurdles for agencies and citizens trying to protect our wasters," said Jan Goldman-Carter, an attorney for the National Wildlife Federation. On the other side of the fence, Assistant EPA Administrator Benjamin Grumbles said the new rule, "maintains...the Bush administration's strong commitment to wetlands conservation."
– Read the article
Summer brings dead zones back to U.S. waters
Flip-flops and ice-cream cones are hard to complain about, but other hallmarks of summer in the United States are less welcome. As temperatures rise in the Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, algal blooms are announcing the return of dead zones. "It is a real tragedy when a huge segment of the Chesapeake Bay is expected to be devoid of oxygen, and the government calls it moderate," said Roy Hoagland of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in reference to the fact that this summer's predicted dead zone is considered average relative to the past 22 years. Meanwhile, a U.S. EPA task force recently met to discuss the growing dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, where the fishing industry is worried about the long term economic impacts of the Gulf's failing ecosystem.
– Read the article about the Chesapeake Bay
– Read about the Gulf of Mexico
– Read about the Gulf of Mexico
Chesapeake Bay serves as model for other states
Despite the Chesapeake Bay's evident problems, Heather Dyke, an environmental planner in the Atlanta office of CH2M Hill told Water Environment & Technology that, "A lot of the policy going on in [the] Chesapeake Bay area is what will be coming down the line later in other parts of the country." And the good news, reports the publication, is that clean water successes in one watershed appear to be transferable to others.
– Read the Water Environment & Technology story
National Academy of Public Administration urges EPA to lead cleanup of urban and agricultural runoff
A new report by a National Academy of Public Administration panel urges the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take the lead in creating new partnerships to pursue a comprehensive effort to clean up the polluted waters of America to health.
The report, "Taking Environmental Protection to the Next Level," provides a blueprint for implementing important new practices for controlling urban and agricultural runoff as part of the nation's water pollution control program. Consistent with the partnership approach endorsed by the Panel, many of these practices are voluntary, incentive-driven, or market-based. The EPA developed and is testing this new comprehensive approach in the six-State-plus-DC Chesapeake Bay watershed. According to the Panel, unprecedented partnerships and innovative land management practices are being demonstrated there. But accomplishing such innovative clean-ups will be challenging for EPA, as the agency must continue to effectively carry out its traditional regulatory role, even as it embraces new partnerships with other federal, state and local government agencies and stakeholders. According to Panel chair Jonathan B. Howes, the Panel's recommendations provide a blueprint for implementing important new practices for controlling urban and agricultural runoff as part of the nation's water pollution control program. Consistent with the partnership approach endorsed by the Panel, many of these practices are voluntary, incentive-driven, or market-based. "Implementing this new approach across the Chesapeake's vast 64,000 square mile expanse of tributaries is the next step," said Howes. "We hope it will set a course the entire Nation can follow."
For more information, or to access the full or summary report, please visit http://www.napawash.org.
Packard Foundation launches Nitrogen Wiki
Recognizing that "the most robust strategies for addressing a problem as complex as nitrogen pollution" could not be developed by one organization alone, the Packard Foundation recently launched a public forum for people to discuss water-quality strategies through an online Wiki. The site closed to participants on May 10th and the Foundation is now using it to inform its funding strategies in the coming months. The discussion was vibrant and is archived for all to read.
– Read the story
Coca-Cola joins WWF in international water conservation campaign
The Coca-Cola Company recently announced $20 million in support for watershed conservation in seven river systems stretching across 20 countries. "Essentially, the pledge is to return every drop of water that we use back to nature," said Neville Isdell, Coca-Cola's chief executive officer. "By 2010, we will return all water that we use in our manufacturing processes to the environment at a level that supports aquatic life and agriculture."
– Read the story
University of Rhode Island Coastal Resources Center helps Tanzania government manage risks to watersheds
Among the beneficiaries of Coca-Cola's new philanthropic push was the University of Rhode Island's Coastal Resources Center. The Center received an $800,000, four-year grant from Coca-Cola and the U.S. Agency for International Development. "If we can empower these communities to manage their water resources and improve sanitation, then 20,000 people will directly benefit," said Donald Robadue, a senior coastal manager at the University's Coastal Resources Center.
– Read the story
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by Cameron Walker
A recent symposium at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in San Francisco looked at how fishermen might benefit from putting boundaries on the ocean's bounty. The Ecosystem Marketplace reports on the use of dedicated access privileges in fisheries management.
by Eileen Campbell
The recent Society for Conservation Biology conference in San Jose, California, included a session on market-based strategies for marine conservation. The Ecosystem Marketplace sat in to hear the latest.
OPINION
Tundi Agardy
Forty percent of the global population now lives within a thin band of coastal area comprising 5% of the total landmass. Despite the mounting population pressures on coastal resources, income generation and human wellbeing are currently higher on the coasts than inland. Why? In large part, people living next to the ocean fare better because coastal ecosystems are among the most productive systems of the global environment, supporting not only marine and terrestrial food webs but also providing key goods and services for humankind.
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