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
The national government protects biodiversity by controlling?
- Ban logging or ensure it is sustainable -> prevent disasters (EbA goals)
- Regulate shipping of toxic chemicals or destructive mining practices
- Import / export regulations to prevent accidental or intentional species
introductions - Restrict possession or import/export of rare or endangered species (e.g.
CITES)
National legal efforts are often subject to ___ bias.
- cultural bias
- species that are
‘appealing’ receive more extensive protection, more funding, etc.
Describe the Green sea turtle case study.
- decades of overexploitation of green sea turtles = endangered
- Costa Rican government eventually banned exploitation in its borders
- Tortuguero National Park was established to protect nesting beaches
L> also later was extended to ban turtle fishing AND began educating locals of the importance - Signed CITES to prohibit trading of sea turtles
- nesting sites have increased since the initial establishment of the park
What is SARA ?
- Species at Risk Act
- Outlines how to manage at risk species, including designating COSEWIC as the agency that assesses
species status to determine which species fall under the
protection of this act - established to meet Canada’s commitment for protecting endangered species via CBD
What is COSEWIC?
- Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada
- put in charge of determining status a risk species by SARA
- independent advisory panel to minister of Env and climate change Canada
- meets twice a year to assess red list for Canada
What is degazettement?
removal of legal protected status
of national parks, sacred forests, other
conservation areas in order to facilitate natural
resource extraction
** government policy basically can change as the political party uncharge changes..with huge cons bio implications
What is CITES?
- Convention on the International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna - Agreement to restrict trade in species and stop destructive overexploitation
What are red data books?
country-specific list of red list
species, once species is in book, is protected by
that country’s endangered species act
What is CMS?
- Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of
Wild Animals - Goal: encourage international efforts to conserve
migratory species that cross international borders
-Emphasizes regional approaches to research,
management and establishing regulations
- Extended to protect migratory bats and their habitats, as
well as cetaceans in the Baltic and North seas
What are the four international agreements for habitat protection that we went over in class?
- Ramsas Convention on Wetlands
- World Heritage convention
- UNESCO World Network fo Biosphere Reserves
- Convention on Biological Diversity
What is the Ramsas Convention on Wetlands?
established in 1971 to stop
destruction of wetlands (especially ones that support migratory
waterfowl)
What is the World Heritage convention ?
associated with UNESCO and IUCN, to
protect cultural areas and natural areas of international significance
through World Heritage Site program (e.g. Komodo dragon conservation)
What is the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves?
established in 1971,
biosphere reserves designed as models to show that conservation and
sustainable development are compatible “ 621 reserves exist in 117
countries (the largest is in Greenland)
What is the Convention on Biological Diversity?
focuses on all biodiversity, but
includes ecosystem protection targets as well
Which of the following was originally established
with the goal of protecting migratory birds?
A. SARA B. CITES C. CMS D. Ramsas convention on wetlands E. Both C and D
E. Both RCW and CMS were established to protect migratory birds.
What are peace parks?
- international parks created to protect
species that move across border lands or live within
them - recognizes that migratory species cross international borders, and that endangered sp rely on habitat in multiple countries, requiring collaboration
What was the first peace park?
Waterton – Glacier International Peace Park
- Essentially two parks, with two separate entrances (one in each country)
- Both parks recognized as Biosphere Reserves by UNESCO (world heritage site 6)
- Protects a lot of biodiversity, including grizzly bears and lynx populations
What are issues around international trade in biological products. Solution?
Issues: Can lead to overexploitation of natural resources in one country to meet demands of another country. Can lead to formation of black markets (illegal trade)
- Solution: Need to educate consumers about dangers of
exploitation. Need to provide poverty stricken areas with alternate sources of revenue besides illegal harvesting. Strict enforcement of laws at borders / regulation of
trade is essential part of solution
Explain the case study on ivory.
- CITES banned international ivory trade in 1990
- ban led to reduction in price of ivory and shut down many black markets
- poaching was sig decreased, allowing some elephant pops to increase
- recent opening of limited ivory trade has led to increased illegal poaching
What are some internationally important benefits of biodiversity?
- Species can provide products for agriculture, medicine, and
industry
-Regulatory ecosystem services impact multiple countries (or
entire planet)
-Developing countries are not properly compensated for their
biodiversity “ need to increase funding for this to protect it
-This includes recognizing importance of maintaining
biodiversity due to its impacts at global level
Is pollution a country specific problem?
- no !!! environmental pollution can cross borders
- atmospheric pollution, waterways pollution, greenhouse gas pollution + global climate change, ozone depletion
What countries are the most affected by environmental pollution?
Environmental costs can fall disproportionately on
developing nations that have not contributed much, or at all,
to the pollution
Explain how the ozone offers an example of international cooperation.
- antarctic hole detected
- Montreal Protocol restricted global CFCs
- led to a >98% decrease in CFC emissions
- ozone layer is recovering
International agreements are based on __ of countries involved
- consensus
- if countries disagree, can prevent strong measures from
going forward
L> participation is voluntary, so many countries can ignore restrictions or fail to enforce them in their own borders
Whats the issue with political shifts and policy?
Countries can adopt policies under one government, and then
choose not to enforce them when a different political party takes
over.
What is the only real way to enforce rules of international agreements?
Public pressure the only way to enforce rules
- Ex: Japanese whalers
that ignored whaling restrictions could not be stopped by agreement
protecting whales, but reduced demand for whale meat in Japan can make illegal whaling less lucrative
****Educating public on issues can create the pressure necessary to cause countries to start to enforce regulations
What is UNFCCC?
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
- Outlines international climate policy on climate change
- key treaties from this:
L> Kyoto Protocol
L> Paris Agreement
What are the three options policy makers have for reducing GHG emissions?
- Set specific limits on the amount of gases that companies can produce
- Implement a carbon tax and require that companies pay for emissions, making it
cheaper to update technology than to pollute - Implement a trading scheme – companies can then be rewarded for updating technology
because they can sell their extra emissions (the ones they don’t produce) to other
companies.
What is a huge issue facing carbon markets right now?
no set price, and
in many countries the price is insufficient to encourage technological updates
When does paying for pollution rights work?
- when we cap the amount of pollution allowed
- need incentives for companies to choose to update / use renewable energy
instead
What is the current general trend for world businesses and GHG emissions?
- the companies that rely on energy are coming up with carbon pricing pitches
- prices vary widely bc there is no set price ar the national level or global level.
What can cause people to be apathetic about risks of climate change?
he countries that pollute the most will also be affected the least..our pollution today will kill people from developing countries in the future
What is REDD?
- Reduced emissions from deforestation & degradation
- allows reductions in deforestation to be
quantified, rewarded and traded on Carbon market
- Cease / offset deforestation to meet UNFCCC objectives on climate change mitigation (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)
What is COP-11?
Tropical forest countries pushed for
deforestation to be included in emissions framework outlined by REDD
-Tropical countries excluded from Carbon markets in original
agreements on mitigating climate change (developing countries
exempt from emissions reductions)
A country is attempting to meet the reductions in greenhouse
gas emissions that it agreed to by ratifying the Paris
Agreement. To this end, it decides to apply a monetary fee for
greenhouse gas emissions with the goal of making it cheaper
to move to renewable sources of energy than to continue to
pollute.
Based on the above information, which of the following
statements is correct?
A. This country is probably establishing a carbon market
B. This involves degazettement
C. This is an example of a conservation concession
D. This country is probably establishing a carbon tax
E. More than one of the above
D. when you’re trying to make it cheaper to update your technology…that implements a cost for the opp direction…so it is a tax
Over-arching conclusions from this lecture??
- protection of BD should be a shared goal for everyone
- need individuals with training in classification and monitoring of sp + ecosystems
- Need international collaboration bc many conservation issues are international in scope
- Developing countries need help in protecting their BD . Consumers need to make informed choices to prevent overexploitation
- Educate the public is essential
- National Parks and conservation authorities ALWaYS need more cash
