Lecture Twenty Four - Biosphere II Flashcards
How has atmospheric pollution been addressed?
- UNFCCC - An international treaty to limit global greenhouse gas emissions.
- Kyoto Protocol - an addition to UNFCCC
- KP - powerful, legally binding measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Kyoto Protocol ran out in 2012
Explain the Kyoto protocol.
- Developed countries commit to reduce emissions of six key greenhouse gases by at least 5%.
- Achieved - cuts of 8% by Switzerland, most Central & E European states and the EU; 7% by the US; 6% by Canada, Hungary, Japan, Poland & Russia.
- NZ, Ukraine to stabilize their emissions.
- Norway may increase emissions up to 1%, Australia by up to 8%, and Iceland 10%.
Explain the Copenhagen Accord 2009.
•Developing nations - wanted protocol extended so targets set in Kyoto are met by developed nations
•Developed nations - argued that developing nations should also meet targets
- China - the largest greenhouse gas emitter
- India will be 3rd largest by 2015
•Copenhagen Accord – not legally binding
•Mexico, November 2010 – squabbling, uncertainty…
What is the global energy consumption?
• Resource base finite - Likely to begin to decline this century • Geographically non-homogeneous - resource conflicts • Non-renewable C-emitting energy - contributes to global climate change
What are the sources of C free power?
Nuclear (fission and fusion)
• 10 TW = 10,000 new 1 GW reactors (i.e., a new reactor every other day for the next 50 years)
2.3 million tonnes proven reserves;
1 TW-hr requires 22 tonnes of U
Hence at 10 TW provides <1 year of energy
Terrestrial resource base provides 10 years of energy
Would need to mine U from seawater (700 x terrestrial resource base; so needs 3000 Niagara Falls or breeders)
‘Renewables’ – natural sources • Solar (photovoltaic, dye-sensitive cells) • Wind • Rain (hydro – but generally damaging) • Tides • Geothermal 2008 – ~ 19% of global energy from renewables, but growing • Carbon sequestration = too expensive.
What does population increase and urban sprawl lead to?
Growth of low density housing leads to:
•Loss of wetlands, forests, and grassland
•Fragmentation of habitat
•Increased soil erosion and pollution
•Increased air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions
•And lots of knock-on effects
What is sustainability?
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” Brundtland Report (1987) World Commission on Environment and Development.
Explain halting the scale of deforestation.
a). Stop cutting down the trees – viable?
Tropical timber worth $5 billion…
Sustainability? - Forest management schemes.
b). The Tropical Forest Action Plan (TFAP – 1985)
•major international attempt to tackle deforestation.
•billions of dollars available for projects to save forests.
Problems:
i.Assumption - to save forests, an $ value.
ii.Ignores immediate causes of tropical deforestation - blames victims.
iii.No grassroots consultation and limited NGO participation -> ignores peoples needs.
iv.Since TFAP, acceleration of tropical deforestation TFAP failed to decrease deforestation
v.Has contributed to increase in rate of destruction by promoting industrial logging in many tropical countries
c). Sustained Yield Forestry (SYF)
• SYF used for tropical forests, but… basically a myth.
•Corruption, commercial pressures and methods of extraction which require heavy machinery compacts the soil – all obstacles to sustainability.
d). Reserve Strategies
•Nature reserves (NRs) - contribute to conservation
•But…..
Large-scale projects cause extinction of large #s of species.
•Nature reserves effective part of a much wider strategy.
e). International Biodiversity Program
World Bank - global “Biodiversity Action Program“ goal. Does NOT confront underlying causes of biodiversity loss likely to worsen the problem.
World Rainforest Movement, 4 basic defects with BAP:
i.Processes causing biodiversity loss not tackled:
ii.Reserve creation seen as solution. But, optimal reserve size?
iii.Creation of reserves Excuse for exploiting unprotected areas.
iv.Values biodiversity in $ terms. No recognition of inherent value of biodiversity.
v.May shift genetic resources from the poorer ‘South’, supporting most of the world’s species, to developed ‘North’
f). Forest Stewardship Council (USA)
i.Sustainable Logging Ensure that forest ecosystems are not damaged, with low volumes of trees extracted.
ii.Impact on Indigenous Peoples Consider impacts of logging on indigenous populations that use these forests.
iii.Chain of Custody Certification - verify that forestry practices are consistent with FSC standards.
g). Education
i.Educate and inform companies whose actions, either directly or indirectly, pose a threat to the forests.
ii.Indigenous people - make best use of natural resources.
iii.Consumers in developed countries - understand the damaging impacts of the forest products they buy.
h). Relieving debt burden
The 5 countries with largest rainforest areas among the world’s most heavily indebted.
What is the sustainable biosphere initiative?
Goal - define and acquire basic ecological information necessary for the ‘intelligent’ and responsible: •development •management •conservation of the Earth's resources.
What is the biodiversity crisis?
Conservation biology integrates the following fields to conserve biological diversity at all levels –Ecology –Evolutionary biology –Physiology –Molecular biology –Genetics –Behavioral ecology
- Manage human use of Earth’s resources to maintain biodiversity
- Includes the option to use resources.
- Requires us to eliminate or reduce adverse impacts that result from human activity
Principles of Ecosystem based Management
•Focus on long-term view
•Concentrate on ecosystem health, integrity
•Decisions based on science + traditional knowledge + human values.
•Involves those affected by decisions or who have an interest in the outcome
•Use adaptive management by learning from experience
•Look at the big picture.
Learn how nature sustains itself – hence, more research required requires more biologists and environmental scientists!!
Research:
•Population conservation focuses on population size, genetic diversity, and critical habitat
•Conservation at population and species levels
–two main approaches
(i) Small-Population Approach:
–Study processes that cause very small populations to become extinct
(ii) Declining-Population Approach:
–Population declines evaluated on a case-by-case basis
–Step-by-step proactive strategies – analysis and intervention
–Very $$, very labour intensive, no guarantee of success
How can extinction be prevented?
Measures to conserve biodiversity include: •International Conventions •International Organisations •National laws •National Organisations •Research, Reservation, Rehabilitation •Adding economic value to biodiversity
IUCN (World conservation union:
140 countries include > 70 State, 100 government agencies, and 750+ NGOs. Activities include:
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - taxonomic, conservation status & distribution information on taxa evaluated using IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria - designed to determine the relative risk of extinction.
Red list categories
- “critically endangered” < 250 mature individuals.
- “endangered” species < 2,500 mature individuals, or known to exist at no more than 5 locations.
- “vulnerable” species < 10,000 mature individuals, or known to exist at no more than 10 locations.
Convention in inter nation trade in endangered species (CITES):
–International treaty to protect endangered species
–Appendix – 3
•I – most endangered
•II – may become endangered
•III – regulated by 1 country that seeks the help of other countries.
The commonwealth endangered species protection act 1992:
•legislation to protect endangered and vulnerable species
•identifies and lists threatened species
•implements recovery plans for species.
What will environmental scientists have important role to play in?
e.g. Keystone Species
–Loss results in loss of many others
–Importance to environment is greater than indicated by abundance alone
•Reservation
- ‘Critical habitat’ specific areas within range of a species with physical or biological features essential to its conservation.
Landscape and regional conservation - aim to sustain entire biotas
•Recent conservation biology attempts to sustain the biodiversity of entire communities, ecosystems, and landscapes
•Goal - understand past, present, & future patterns of landscape use, make biodiversity conservation part of land-use planning
•Requirement – research, modelling
Establishing protected areas:
Conservation biologists apply understanding of ecological dynamics
– Establish protected areas slow loss of biodiversity
– Range in protection status (most least)
. National Parks
. Wilderness areas
. State and Regional Parks
. Flora and Fauna Reserves
. State Game reserves ….where you can legally kill stuff??
What is the philosophy of national parks?
•National Parks = biodiversity islands
–In a sea of habitat degraded to varying degrees by human activity
•One argument for extensive reserves
–Large, far-ranging animals with low-density populations require extensive habitats.
What are zoned reserves?
Zoned reserves
–often established as “conservation areas.”
•Model recognizes - conservation efforts often involve working in landscapes that are largely human dominated.
Explain biological augmentation.
Use of organisms to add essential materials to a degraded ecosystem
e.g. addition of bacteria to polluted lakes / dams – bacteria break down ‘muck’ –> increase rates of cycling through inverts and fish.
