Ecosystem Services Charting a Path to Sustainability: Interdisciplinary Research Team Summaries (2012) / Chapter Skim
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IDR Team Summary 7: Design a federal policy to maintain or improve natural capital and ecosystem services within the United States, including measuring and documenting the effectiveness of the policy.
IDR Team Summary 7: Design a federal policy to maintain or improve natural capital and ecosystem services within the United States, including measuring and documenting the effectiveness of the policy.
Pages 73-84
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From page 73... ...
The capacity to generate ecosystem services is a component of natural capital, which is in turn a component of renewable wealth. Natural capital is related to the capacity of a region to provide food, fiber, pharmaceuticals, potable water and other goods; maintain water and air quality, soil fertility, and other characteristics of a healthful environment; and present people with educational, recreational, and spiritual values of nature.
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From page 74... ...
Just as the nation developed policy and legislative frameworks for environmental issues such as water and air quality and endangered species in response to growing scientific and public understanding of the importance of these issues, it may now be time to develop a policy and legislative framework for the more comprehensive management of natural capital and ecosystem services. Key Questions • What would be the goal of a U.S.
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From page 75... ...
Wright, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation IDR TEAM SUMMARY -- GROUP 7A Vilay Khandelwal, NAKFI Science Writing Scholar University of Southern California IDR Team 7A was asked to develop an effective federal policy aimed at maintaining or improving the legacy of the nation's ecosystems for future generations. Earth's ecosystems -- from rainforests to deserts, from marshes to mountaintops -- have been formed over millions of years of geological changes and biological evolution.
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From page 76... ...
Federal regulation of the environment through the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act to name a few, are geared to promote human health and biodiversity but not necessarily the health of our ecosystems. As such, there is a need to revamp our federal policies to protect our natural capital.
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From page 77... ...
The interoperability of this interagency data portal would be a key requirement for adoption of sound practices that analyze complex data and include it in the rubric of federal decision-making. Interagency training center The team strongly felt the need to break down the governmental stove piping and require regulatory agencies to share responsibility and make management decision collectively.
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From page 78... ...
for water pollution, the team realized that endpoints would require adaptive management strategies, which would need to be determined for each ecosystem on a case-by-case basis. It is not expected that the ecosystems will be untouched, rather, that the final action would be taken to maximize ecosystem service.
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From page 79... ...
budget on disaster relief to preventive pilot projects including wetland preservation, as a buffer against flooding; c. developing an interagency training center and data portal as outlined above; d.
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From page 80... ...
Tabor, Center for Large Landscape Conservation IDR TEAM SUMMARY -- GROUP 7B Katie Cowart, NAKFI Science Writing Scholar Texas A&M University IDR Team 7B was asked to design a federal policy to maintain or improve natural capital and the benefits humankind receives from ecosystems within the United States, including measuring and documenting the effectiveness of this policy. The first action the team took was to analyze the group's strengths.
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From page 81... ...
In order to effect change, the public, including legislators at all levels of government, need to understand the role ecosystems play in providing benefits that are important to human life and health. The team also saw translation, institutional application, and communication as problems surrounding ecosystem services.
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From page 82... ...
Policies of other countries were also discussed, because ecosystems often cross borders and to truly protect all of the ecosystems that the United States enjoys, we will still need a global approach to ecosystem maintenance. Of all of the different avenues available for legal change in the United States, the team decided changes on multiple levels need to be made.
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From page 83... ...
Under the assessment section, the policy should define the services and natural capital for a given social-ecological context, be realistic about what people can do and know, take a precautionary practice-based approach, be explicit about the range of actors involved, do not limit to native species, and set ecosystem services targets for restoration and improvement. These targets would set standards that everyone using a particular area would need to be aware of in order to maintain or improve the area and would include things like limits on hunting or fishing, water pollution, crop fertilization, or other human processes that can negatively impact an area.
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From page 84... ...
Based on these ideas, the team recommended that we actually implement a policy meeting these criteria. The team thinks that passing this law will integrate ecosystem services into current laws, create a demand for ecosystem services approaches and information, generate policy-relevant research, and lead to longer term institutional change at multiple scales of governance.
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