chapter 9

Question 1

Sustainable development

Answer 1

Economic development that satisfies both present and future needs for resources and employment while minimizing the impact on biological diversity.

Question 2

Economic development-

Answer 2

Implies improvements in efficiency and organization but not necessarily increase in resource consumption.

Question 3

Economic growth-

Answer 3

materials increases in the amount of resources used.

Question 4

The Challenge of Sustainable Development

GOAL

Answer 4

GOAL:
To provide for the current and future needs of human society while at the same time protecting species, ecosystems, and other aspects of biodiversity.

Question 5

Local Level
-Initiatives from

Answer 5

-Initiatives from concerned citizens, conservation organizations and government officials.
-Nongovernmental organizations NGOs
- Local focus
- 40,000 International: World Wildlife Fund, The Nature conservancy, Conservation International, Sierra Club. The Audubon Society and the National Trust in Britain.

Question 6

Local and regional
Land trusts

Answer 6

Local and regional
-Laws that protect and allow development
-Natural reserves, parks, state or provincial parks

Land trusts
-Private conservation organizations that
-purchase and protect land.
-Netherland: ½ protected land
-USA: over 15 million of ha; 1700 land trusts
-Britain: 250,000 ha landowners

Question 7

Strategies

Answer 7

STRATEGIES
-Conservation easements
-Limited development: conservation development
-Conservation banking
-Payments for ecosystem services (PES)
-Conservation concessions

Question 8

conservation easements

Answer 8

Method of protecting land in which landowners give up the right to develop or build on their property, often in exchange for financial or tax benefit.

In addition to outright purchase of land, both governments and private conservation organizations protect land through conservation easements, in which landowners give up the right to develop, build on, or subdivide their property in exchange for a sum of money or for lower real estate taxes or some other tax benefit (Kiesecker et al. 2007).

Question 9

Limited Development

Answer 9

Another strategy that land trusts and governments use islimited devel- opment, also known as conservation development (Milder et al. 2008). In most such instances, alandowner, aproperty developer, and aconservation organization reach a compromise that allows part of the land to be commer- cially developed while the remainder is protected by a conservation ease- ment. Limited development allows the construction of necessary buildings and other infrastructure for an expanding human society; the projects are often successful precisely because being adjacent to conservation land enhances the value of the developed land.

Compromise involving a landowner, aproperty developer, and aconserva- tion organization that combines some develop- ment with protection of the remaining land.

Question 10

Conservation banking

Answer 10

A related idea is conservation banking, in which a landowner deliber- ately preserves an endangered species or a protected habitat type such as wetlands, or even restores degraded habitat and creates new habitat (Fox and Nino-Murcia 2005).

Asysteminvolving developers paying landowners for the preserva- tion of an endangered species or protected habitat type (or even restoration of a degraded habitat) to compensateforaspeciesorhabitatthatis destroyed elsewhere.

Question 11

Payments for ecosystem services (PES)

Answer 11

ne promising idea ispayments for ecosystem services, involving direct payments to landowners for good land management practices.

Question 12

Conservation concessions

Answer 12

Method ofprotecting land whereby a conservation organization pays a government or other landowner to preserve habi- tat rather than allow an extractive industry to damage the habitat.

Conservation concessions are a recent approach in which conservation organizations outbid extractive industries such as logging companies, not for ownership of the land, but for the rights to use and protect the land.

Question 13

National Level

Answer 13

Laws
National parks

WHAT ELSE?

Question 14

International Level

Answer 14

International cooperation and agreements
-Many species migrate across international borders
-International trade in biological products is commonplace.
-The benefits of biodiversity are of international importance
-Many problems of environmental pollution are international in scope and require international cooperation.

Question 15

International Conservation agreements

Answer 15

International Conservation agreements

-Three of the most important international conventions
–A) Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
–B) The convention Concerning the Protection of the world Cultural and Natural Heritage
–UNESCO Biosphere Reserves Program

Question 16

International summits

Answer 16

International summits
-1992 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Earth summit or Rio Summit
–The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.
–United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Subsequent Kyoto 1997, Bali 2007, Copenhagen 2009.
–United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. Signed by 180 countries.

Question 17

Funding for Conservation

Answer 17

-World Bank www.worldbank.org
-International NGOs
-Global Environmental Facility www.thegef.org/gef
-Environmental trust funds
-Debt-for-nature swaps (use of tebt wed by developing countries to international financial institutions)

-FURTHER FUNDING IS NEEDED

Question 18

Conservation Education

Answer 18

Citizen science conservation projects: many involve birds

Question 19

Role of Conservation Biologists

Answer 19

-Effective educators
-Political active leaders
-Managers
-Practitioners

Question 20

Zoning laws

Answer 20

Zoning laws sometimes prevent construction in sensitive areas such as barrier beaches and floodplains.

Question 21

Conservation leasing

Answer 21

involves providing payments to private landowners who actively manage their land for biodiversity protection.

Question 22

hile the major legal and policing mechanisms that presently exist in the world are based within individual countries, international cooperation to protect biodiversity is an absolute requirement for several reasons:

Answer 22

Many species migrate across international borders. Conservation efforts must protect species at all points in their ranges; efforts in one country will be ineffective ifcritical habitats are destroyed in another country to which an animal migrates. For example, efforts to protect migratory bird species in northern Europe will not work ifthe birds’ overwinter- ing habitat in Africa is destroyed. Also, international parks that occur on both sides of borders, such as Waterton Glacier International Peace Park on the border of the United States and Canada, are appropriate to protect species living and moving through border areas.

¢ International trade in biological products iscommonplace. A strong demand for a product in one country can result in the overexploitation of the species by a poor country or in illegal trade to supply this demand.

¢ The benefits ofbiodiversity are ofinternational importance. The community of nations is helped by the species and varieties that can be used in agriculture, medicine, and industry; by the ecosystems that help regu- late climate; and by the national parks and biosphere reserves of inter- national scientific and tourist value.

¢ Many problems ofenvironmental pollution are international inscope and require international cooperation. The problems that threaten ecosystems include atmospheric pollution and acid rain; the pollution of lakes, rivers, and oceans; greenhouse gas production and global climate change; and ozone depletion (Totten et al. 2003; Srinivasan et al. 2008).

Question 23

Three of the most important habitat conventions are the

Answer 23

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the World Heritage Convention (formally the Convention Concerning the Protection of the WorldCulturalandNaturalHeritage),andtheUNESCO BiosphereReserves program. Countries designating protected areas under these conventions voluntarily agree to administer them under the terms detailed in the con- ventions; countries do not give up sovereignty over these areas to an inter- national body but retain full control over them. Such conventions are effec- tive at getting governments to recognize that they are stewards of sites of global importance. However, the funding and management of such sites are often inadequate.

Question 24

Earth Summit or the Rio Summit,

Answer 24

the conference brought together representatives from 178 countries, including heads of state, plus leaders of the United Nations and major nongovernmental and conservation organizations. Their purpose was to discuss ways of combining increased protection of the environment with more sustainable economic development in less wealthy countries.
Conference participants discussed, and most eventually signed, anum- ber of major documents, including the following:
¢ The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. The Rio Declara- tion is a nonbinding declaration that provides general principles to guide the actions of both wealthy and poor nations on issues of the environment and development. The right of nations to utilize their own natural resources for economic and social development is recog- nized, as long as the environments of other nations are not harmed in the process. The declaration affirms the “polluter pays” principle, in which companies and governments take financial responsibility for the environmental damage that they cause.

Question 25

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Answer 25

This agreement requires industrialized countries to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and to make regular reports on their progress. Although this convention has received broad support, the United States and other major producers of greenhouse gases have refused to ratify it.

Question 26

United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

Answer 26

he Convention on Biological Diversity, signed by 180 countries, has three objectives: pro- tecting biodiversity, using biodiversity in a sustainable manner, and sharing the benefits of new products made using biodiversity. Devel- oping international intellectual property rights laws that fairly share the financial benefits of biodiversity among countries, biotechnology companies, and local people is proving to be a major challenge to the convention, with roadblocks still to overcome. In a number of cases, developing countries have refused or impeded permission to scientists to collect biological samples for their research because of concerns about how the material will be used (or misused). The effect has often been to impair legitimate scientific research.

Question 27

Agenda 21.

Answer 27

This 800-page document is an innovative attempt to describe in a comprehensive manner the policies needed for environ- mentally sound development. Agenda 21 links the environment with other development issues that are often considered separately, such as child welfare, poverty, women’s rights, technology transfer, and the unequal division of wealth among nations. Plans of action are described to address problems of the atmosphere, land degradation and desertification, mountain development, agriculture and rural development, deforestation, aquatic environments, and pollution.

Question 28

National environmental fund (NEF).

Answer 28

An increasingly important mechanism used to provide secure, long-term support for conservation activities in developing countries is the national environmental fund (NEF). NEFs are typically set up as conservation trust funds or foundations in which a board of trustees—composed of represen- tatives of the host government, conservation organizations, and donor agen- cies—allocates the annual income from an endowment to support inade- quately funded government departments and nongovernment conservation organizationsandactivities.

Question 29

debt-for-nature swap,

Answer 29

another innovative approach, the debt-for-nature swap, has made use of the huge international debt owed by developing countries to international financial institutions as an opportunity to protect biodiversity

Question 30

World Bank.

Answer 30

The World Bank (also known as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) was originally established by the United Nations to rebuild European countries after the devastation of World War II. The bank later changed its focus to economic development projects in less developed coun- tries; such projects have encompassed mining, manufacturing, transporta- tion, logging, agriculture, dams, hydroelectric power, irrigation projects, and the oil and gas industries.

Question 31

multilateral development banks (MDBs)

Answer 31

have become increasingly concerned with the impacts their projects have on the environ- ment. As a consequence, they now have thorough environmental reviews of the projects that they consider, and environmental safeguards built into the projects that they eventually fund

Question 32

Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Answer 32

Another major source of funds for the protection of biodiversity is the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The GEF was created in 1991 to fund the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity and is based in Wash- ington, D.C. (www.gefweb.org). It does not carry out projects itself, but rather has anumber of Implementing Agencies that manage its projects, such as the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and regional develop- ment banks.