Humans reap benefits from natural areas through “ecosystem services” August 8, 2008
Posted by bruce mcgranahan in land use, nature protection.Tags: conservation, ecosystem services
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Environmental conservation efforts have traditionally focused on protecting individual species or natural resources. Scientists are discovering, however, that preserving the benefits that whole ecosystems provide to people is more economically and environmentally valuable.
Ecosystem services are the benefits that humans reap from natural areas where living and non-living things function in concert with each other. These services include a range of human essentials, such as food production, clean water and clean air. For example, grasslands and forests support pollinators, which promote healthy crops, while wetlands filter and purify our water supply.
Rapid growth has fallout on nature July 18, 2008
Posted by bruce mcgranahan in nature protection.Tags: nature, nature protection
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This from About My Planet
Rapid urbanization and its fallout on nature
By: Praveen Sequeira in Environment
“A recent study indicates that that rapid urbanization will affect the future of plants and animals and availability [of] natural resources. The implications for city planners are ominous. If cities are planned without any regard for nature, then nature will die. As per a United Nations Report, presently, 50% of the population of the world is living in cities. This will increase to 60% by 2030. Nearly 2 billion people will be added to the existing population in the cities. These will be people who will migrate from rural areas. Most of this growth is going to happen in India, Africa and China and countries that are ecologically rich like islands and sea coasts. This kind of lopsided growth will put these areas at risk.
We need to design, build and expand cities taking into consideration, conservation and protection of nature otherwise we will not have any nature left. Studies have been conducted, building various scenarios on the effect of urban growth on ecosystems and natural resources. The studies have made some startling revelations on the effect of the present growth in urbanization. By 2030, there could be severe damage to ecosystems.
Some of the main findings are given below:
- Some the areas affected by rapid urbanization have a concentration of endemic species. These species will not survive urbanization. For instance, the Wimmer’s Shrew is found in the West African Coast near Cote D’Ivoire. With the expected expansion of Abidjan on the anvil, this species is not likely to survive.
- At least 8% of the vertebrates are endangered due to rapid urbanization. The numbers are expected to rise with new areas coming under urbanization, growth and expansion.
- The distance between cities and protected areas will reduce. For instance, in 1995, a city and a protected area were around 27 miles apart. By 2030, this distance is expected to reduce to 14 miles. This proximity has implications on the availability and use of natural resources with men and animals both depend on it.
Although the effects of increased urbanization will be localized, when added up, the effects are a huge threat to nature and biodiversity. Urban areas cover huge parts of the globe and the chances are that many endangered species will become extinct shortly.
But all is not lost. If conservationists, Governments and city planners, work together, man and nature can live in harmony.
Ecological Report Cards can be an effective way of telling the story July 8, 2008
Posted by bruce mcgranahan in advocacy, environmental education, nature protection, outreach.Tags: advocacy, environmental education, outreach
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Ecological report cards can grab media attention and motivate volunteers. Increasingly, watershed organizations are discovering that report cards and score cards are a powerful tool for snagging media attention and public awareness at the local level as well.
“Depending on how they are produced, they can be very effective mechanisms for getting the public interested and involved,” said Joe Rieger, watershed restoration manager for the Elizabeth River Project.
Some rate their rivers with letter grades, others with numbers. The Elizabeth River Project uses labels such as “degraded,” “marginal,” and “good.”
The South River Federation published its second scorecard in 2008, rating different aspects of the river on a scale from one to 10, and presented their findings to the Anne Arundel County Council.
“We found a tremendous amount of interest in the scorecard results,” said executive director Matt Berres. “It brings lots of attention to the condition of the river and creates an opportunity to rally public support.”
The first Patuxent River report card, released earlier this year, gave a D-minus to the river, which helped to recruit volunteers for a new citizen monitoring program.
Report on Loudoun County’s environment June 23, 2008
Posted by bruce mcgranahan in nature protection, pollution control.Tags: Loudoun, Loudoun County, environment
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Loudoun County Environmental Report
This report was prepared as an assessment of Loudoun County, Virginia’s environment and includes specific recommendations and a 4-year plan to meet Loudoun County’s environmental challenges.<CONTINUED>
