An Ecosystem Services Approach to Assessing the Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico (2013) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Summary
Summary
Pages 1-12
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 1... ...
Although multiple state and federal agencies had experience in the restoration of damaged natural resources, no agency had ever been faced with a spill affecting such a wide area and such a broad range of ecosystems. This report aims to answer the question: in what ways might using an "ecosystem services approach" help these agencies to achieve their mission, as mandated by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, of "making the environment and the public whole."1 The ecosystem services approach is different from traditional approaches to damage assessment and restoration (e.g., the Natural Resources Damage Assessment)
|
From page 2... ...
Finally, success in developing workable models for measuring natural resource damage in terms of ecosystem services will facilitate efforts to make the public whole in the wake of future disasters. INTRODUCTION On April 20, 2010, an explosion on the DWH platform, which was drilling the Macondo well in Mississippi Canyon Block 252 in the GoM, killed 11 oil workers and injured 17 others, resulted in the largest oil spill in U.S.
|
From page 3... ...
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND IMPACTS FROM THE DWH OIL SPILL Given the scale of the DWH oil spill, the potential for disruption of GoM ecosystem services was significant. These services provide direct and indirect benefits to the 20 million people who live in the region; they support, among many other economic activities, one of the nation's most productive commercial and recreational fisheries, a $50 billion tourism industry, and an energy sector that produces about 30 percent of the nation's oil and 20 percent of its natural gas.
|
From page 4... ...
The first scenario raises concerns that more-difficult-to-price services will be discounted or ignored in the decision-making process; the second highlights an important limitation to any approach to damage assessment and restoration. RESILIENCE AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES Ecosystems are subject to natural disturbances such as fires, floods, droughts, and disease outbreaks, as well as human-caused disturbances, including oil spills.
|
From page 5... ...
Some impacts were ephemeral, some persist, and many are under investigation or unknown at this time. Using the ecosystems services approach, the case studies consider how key ecosystem services may have been impacted by the DWH oil spill, examine methods for making baseline measurements, and explore the adequacy of existing baseline data for the GoM.
|
From page 6... ...
The wetland case study focuses on the regulating service of hazard moderation (specifically storm mitigation) to illustrate the opportunity that exists in using the ecosystem services approach when the underlying ecosystem science and the particular ecosystem service are well known and supported by a rich literature.
|
From page 7... ...
This case study explores a provisioning service, the provision of seafood from the GoM, and how the ecosystem services approach may help to quantify the possible impacts of oil spills on seafood production. The spill's potential disruption to the provision of seafood can be estimated by examining the spatial extent of the fishery closures imposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
|
From page 8... ...
minus any expenses incurred to capture those fish. The methodology for evaluating the economic effects of an oil spill, like any other type of pollution, on commercial fisheries is also relatively simple in concept.
|
From page 9... ...
The stranding of hundreds of dolphins in the GoM before, during, and especially after the DWH oil spill have stimulated considerable public concern, which speaks to our cultural needs and sensitivities regarding their "value" as an ecological resource and ecosystem service. If the recent mortality event is determined to be linked to the DWH oil spill, then an opportunity may exist to establish a plan to protect and restore the dolphin habitat as well to reduce dolphin mortality due to human activities.
|
From page 10... ...
The final analysis and assessment of the impacts of the response techniques are dependent on the release of damage assessment data that are presently being analyzed, as well as of long-term monitoring data that may become available after this report is published. LOOKING AHEAD As the nation moves forward after the DWH oil spill, the substantial funding that is and will be available through the criminal and civil settlements offers an unprecedented opportunity to establish a comprehensive baseline and fundamental understanding of the GoM, a critical 10
|
From page 11... ...
As with ecosystem services, there are tradeoffs: managing for the resilience of a particular service may reduce the resilience of another service. CONCLUSION There will be funding opportunities through multiple venues to achieve better preparedness before another event like the DWH oil spill happens, but there must be coordination so that innovation can be fostered without wasting funds, duplicating efforts, and causing harm.
|
From page 12... ...
Although the fines, penalties, and outcomes of litigation will help to fund and further our scientific understanding of the GoM ecosystem and how it functions, policymakers and the public should consider potential tradeoffs as they set priorities and goals for restoring and strengthening their communities and the GoM natural resources. The ecosystem services approach is one tool that could be used during these deliberations to more fully capture the value of assorted services in the GoM.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.