Sustainable development Flashcards
What is sustainable development?
economic development
that satisfies present and future need for resources
and employment and minimizes impacts on biodiversity
/ ecosystem functions
What is economic development ?
improvements in efficiency,
organization, and distribution of resource use / other
economic activity, does not necessarily lead to changes
in resource consumption
What is economic growth?
material increase in the amount of
resources being used
Describe conservation at the local level, very generally.
- establishment of PAs is usually at local level
- Governments can set aside public lands for
conservation / preservation of future options
L> Watershed protection
L> recreation areas
L> cons areas
L> areas important for resource harvesting - Conservation organizations or government can also
purchase land, or receive donated land (incentive often
a tax break for person donating land)
Describe the role of local level legislation and laws in cons.
-Legislation initiatives start with individuals or groups
deciding to preserve / protect aspect of biodiversity
- local and regional laws in many countries to protect
watersheds, to prevent water and air pollution -> often as
strict or stricter than national laws - Local legislation can regulate plant and animal harvesting,
hunting and fishing activities (where they can occur, when
they can occur, what equipment can be used)
Describe the role of NGOs at the local level.
- Non governmental organizations
- mobilize people to protect env and promote welfare of people
- organize and education people -> conservation initiatives
- can also lobby for legislation
Wetlands are known as natures ___?
kidneys
- they purify water, offer flood protection, shoreline erosion control, and filter surface water
- important for nursery of fish, birds, amphibians , insects etc
Are wetlands in danger?
- yes
- high wetland loss is associated with high human populations
- Canada has 25% of global wetlands
- Loss bc:
L> drainage for residential or commercial dev
L> conversion to agricultural land
L> invasive sp
L> dredging and stream channelization
L> depositor of fill material
L> diking and damming
L> logging
L>mining
L> construction
Explain the New Orleans Case study + importance of wetlands.
- city expansion led to draining of wetlands
- city is 6 feet below sea level (prone to flooding)
L> climate change increases sea level + more powerful storms , increasing risk of flooding - Hurricane Katrina
- huge storm surge bx hurricane flooding
- research has shown that coastal wetlands prevented damage in some areas absorbing flood waters.
What is a major issue with conservation at the local level wrt residents , and what stream of conservation deals with this.
- private landowners and businesses often feel that government doesn’t have the right to tell them what
to do with their land - Conservation psychology – growing field, explains
positions / regulations / restrictions to public and helps negotiate compromises, encourages conservation activities and awareness
**Education of public is important for conservation (value of land, value of legislation towards protecting land, requires clear communication and transparency)
What are land trusts?
- a private, nonprofit organization that, as all or part of its mission, actively works to conserve land by undertaking or assisting in land or conservation easement acquisition, or by its stewardship of such land or easements
- non profit conservation plays a major role in gaining land for conservation
- Nature Conservancy Canada is the biggest private non profit conservation organization
What is CARTS?
- Conservation, Amenity, and Recreation Trusts
- private reserve networks that manage areas to meet with
multiple objectives
What is Britains National Trust?
- largest NGO land trust group in UK
What are the six methods of local legislation and financial incentives for conservation?
- Conservation Easements
- Limited Development (Conservation Development)
- Conservation leasing
- Conservation Banking
- Payments for ecosystem services (PES)
- Conservation Concessions
What are conservation easements?
- Landowners give up right to develop, build on, or subdivide property in
exchange for $ or tax breaks - Governments or conservation organizations can also purchase the
development rights to the land, either permanently or for a set time
period
-Landowners may also be willing to accept conservation restrictions
without any compensation
What is “limited development (conservation development)?
- Landowners, property developers, government agencies and / or
conservation organizations compromise “ part of land is commercially
developed and the rest is protected by a conservation easement - This permits construction of needed infrastructure to meet demands of
expanding human population while also protecting biodiversity
What is conversation leasing?
- Payments made to private landowners who actively manage their land to
protect biodiversity
-Can include tax deductions and reimbursements for any costs for
restoration or management of land
-Private land owners may be permitted to develop land later on if lease it
out now
What is conservation banking?
- Landowners deliberately preserve endangered species / protected
habitat types, or actively restores or creates new habitat
-Can then receive payments from developers that need biodiversity
offsets for similar habitat that they are destroying elsewhere
- Funds paid by the developer can pay for restoration or management of
this habitat or the species within it
A business that owns land that contains a rare
ecosystem has been asked to give up the rights to
build on the majority of this land, but is able to to use part of it to build much needed housing for an area. What type of legislative activity is this?
A. Conservation easement
B. Conservation development
C. Conservation leasing
D. Conservation banking
E. None of the above
B bc they are protecting part of it but building on the rest of it
Explain PES.
- payments for ecosystem services
-Landowners are paid for providing specific conservation
services
- Utility companies can gain carbon credits by paying for
habitat protection (e.g. paying landowners to not cut down
forest) and restoration (e.g. paying landowners for planting
trees and establishing new forests) - Carbon credits can be used to offset carbon emissions that
the utility company will then produce through burning fossil
fuels
-On larger scale -> global carbon markets
What are conservation concessions?
- Conservation organizations outbid extractive industries
that are trying to purchase land
-Goal: obtain rights to land and protect it
- Governments and large land owners receive annual
income, but receive it from conservation organization
instead of extractive industry - Ex) Logging company wants to pay to log on private land, and conservation organization finds out and outbids them -> essentially paying landowner more to
protect land
Briefly explain national governments and conservation.
- N.G plays leading role in cons activities for many countries
- level of gov action can substantially affect cons outcomes
- cons bios provide info to gov
- Gov can use revenues / authority to establish PAs
- many Nat PAs are sued for natural resources but also managed to conserve BD
What is Wapusk National Park an example of?
- example of a national reserve set up to protect an endangered species
- Polar bears
- IUCN Category II (National Park)
- polar bear maternity den sites
- access is restricted largely due to remote location
- many research camps here
How are regulations for environmental pollution set at the national level?
-Enact laws to protect human health and essential services from
ecosystems (e.g. watersheds purify water)
-Regulations often aimed at air emissions, sewage treatment, waste
dumping
