Conservation/Mitigation Efforts Flashcards
Types of Methodologies (to mitigate ecosystem impact)
Conservation // Management // Policy making // Monitoring // Restoration
Conservation
More theoretical, less concerned with economic impacts, meant to develop ways to prevent species extinction
Techniques of Conservation
Using alternative resources, establishing protected areas, protecting biodiversity, hunting/fishing restrictions, and restoration ecology
Ecosystem Management
Based on ecology and social sciences, meant to balance ecological resilience with social flexibility // Clear technological and data-driven solutions
Steps of Ecosystem Management
Put together data and facts, define area to manage, identify goals of all groups involved, develop a management plan, implement the plan, re-evaluate ecological and social conditions to make necessary adjustments
Marine Protected Area (MPA)
Section of ocean with limits placed on human activity
No-Take Areas (NTA)
Fishing and other human activities are prohibited
Paris Agreement
International commitment to curb carbon emissions
International Whaling Commission
Agreement to curb whaling activities
United States’ Policies
Clean Water Act, Coastal Zone Management Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act
Ecosystem Monitoring
Checking the health of an ecosystem, often through systematic, repeated measures // Helps in understanding and preventing the impacts of disturbances
Types of Ecosystem Monitoring
Targeted (focuses on specific areas/subjects) // Surveillance (focuses in magnitude and direction of change) // Landscape (focuses on change at large spatial scales)
Restoration Ecology
Returning an ecosystem to its pre-disturbance condition through human intervention, and by either reintroducing a native species or restoring/cleaning up habitats
Restoration of Biodiversity
Since genetic diversity is key to the survival of a species, this involves breeding programs and farms to increase biodiversity
Different Forms of Ecosystem Intervention
Restoration (bringing an ecosystem back to original state) // Rehabilitation (aiming for partial recovery) // Reclamation (improving structure/function in a new state)
Sustainable Development
Requires that the needs of future generations are not compromised by the actions of people today
Preservation
Contrasted to conservation, in that it focuses on the protection of species and habitats without reference to natural change and human requirements
Ecosystem Approach
The integrated management of human activities, based on knowledge of ecosystem dynamics, to achieve sustainable use of ecosystem goods and services, and maintenance of ecosystem integrity
Environmental Impact Assessment
EIA, aims to predict the impacts of development and to mitigate or avoid those impacts that are unsustainable // FISHERIES ARE USUALLY EXEMPT
Ecolabeling
Functions on the premise that what we buy in the supermarket may influence the behavior of fishers and other users of the marine environment
what is the situation with the Hudson River Estuary
it is a superfund site designated the 2nd most endangered river in the US, there was an EPA ruling to force General Electric to clean up, and they are currently monitoring how fixing the benthic area is going
what is the hudson river
watershed of around 34,000 km2, river origin at Lake Tear of the Clouds in the Adirondacks, in NY, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, NJ
what is the hudson river estuary
lower hudson, partially mixed estuary, mix of tidal marshes, wooded swamps, mud flats, and wetlands
