Conservation and Sustainable Development at the Local Level sustainable development -economic development that satisfies needs for resources and employment but minimizes impacts on diversity -economic development NOT economic growth, which increases the amount of resources used -many large corporations have misused the concept of sustainable development to "greenwash" their industrial activities without any change in practice Ex. A huge mining complex is justified by setting aside a small percentage of land as a park -some conservation biologists have went to opposite extremes advocating that vast areas of the world be shut off from all development Policy and laws have been designed to promote sustainability and conservation at local, national, and international levels

20.1 Sustainable development-a balance between both worlds.

Conservation and Sustainable Development at the Local Level Local (city, town, county, state) Conservation 1. Laws -hunting and fishing laws -laws that control the way local lands are used 1) restrictions on land use or access to sensitive habitats 2) burn bans in certain areas 3) zoning laws that prevent construction in sensitive habitats 4) environmental impact statements on government lands or projects that receive government funds 5) regulation of manufacturing, mining, transportation, and waste disposal

Local Conservation 2. Government and Nongovernment organizations (NGOs) programs -NGOs are growing in number Figure land trusts are private, nonprofit corporations established to protect land and natural resources -examples include local or national organizations such as Nature Conservancy and Audubon Society (latter two combined protect 10 million ha (25 million acres) -criticized as being elitist because they remove land from productive use and often lower revenues collected from land taxes but loss of tax revenue is often offset by increased values of properties adjacent to conservation areas -land trusts also form conservation easements where landowners give up the right to develop or subdivide their property in exchange for money (usually from a trust), lower real estate taxes, or some other tax benefit. - NGOs and governments can also provide conservation leasing, banking, and payment for ecosystem services (PES)

20.2 Enormous growth in the number of international nongovernment organizations since 1950

Local Conservation Conservation leasing and banking -lease payments to private landowners that actively manage their land for biodiversity Ex. Conservation Reserve Program or CRP, Conservation subsidies from the Federal government to ranchers to maintain prairie pasture with minimal fertilizer and nutrient runoff as well as lowered productivity Ex. PES funded by United State Department of Agriculture and private foundations where ranchers in Florida Everglades are paid for lower productivity because they use native prairie pasture and little fertilizer, which results in less eutrophication Fig. 20.3

Figure 20.3 Conservation subsidies for native prairie pasture that is less productive Figure 20.3 Different regulations and management styles can have different outcomes for conservation

National Conservation 1. laws -set standards to limit environmemtal pollution National Environmental Protection Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act -protect biodiversity Ex. CITES- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and Endangered Species Act (ESA) Ex. CITES protects green sea turtles in Costa Rica and ESA whooping cranes in Texas Figures 20.5 & 20.6

20.5 Greater numbers of green turtles have been nesting at Tortuguero Beach in Costa Rica following protective measures by CITES

Figure 20.6 Endangered species will often require active management as part of the recovery process

The longer species have been listed with ESA, the greater the probability of improving in status (ex. whooping crane) and the lower the probability of continuing to decline (ex. Indiana bat) Figure 20.7

Trends and numbers related to ESA -Since (1500) U.S. species added to the list and as of 2014, 146 species are candidates under consideration for listing -only a few U. S. species have been de-listed. Greatest success is with the brown pelican, American peregine falcon, and American alligator. In 2007, the bald eagle was moved from the list as it had increased in number from 400 breeding pairs in 1960 to about overall, most listed species are declining in numbers and about 20% are of unknown status due to insufficient status

-biggest problem is funding and while funding has been growing, the number of species protected under ESA has been growing even faster, so there is less money available per species than ever before -importance of adequate funding for species recovery is shown by the fact that priority species have a higher probability of improved status than those with less priority and funding -another problem is that 10% of listed species are exclusively on private land and 60% of listed species are found predominantly on private land. ESA funding needs to be extended to private landowners that want to protect threatened or endangered species

Amendments to the Act cabinet-level committee "God Squad" has the power to exclude certain populations of endangered species from protection -tries to reach compromises between economic interests and conservation priorities Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP) -plans drawn up by developers, conservation groups, and local governments to develop compromises that reconcile both conservation and business interests -plans must be approved by USFWS Ex. HCP in Riverside County CA allows developers to build within the historic range of the endangered Stephen's kangaroo rat if they contribute to a fund that will be used to buy wildlife sanctuaries -in 1991, CA passed the Natural Community Conservation Planning Act which has one plan to protect highly developed coastal sage scrub with the California gnatcatcher and about 100 other species of concern Figure 20.8

20.8 (A) In southern CA, a Natural Community Conservation Plan has been established to protect the California gnatcatcher from (B) development and fragmentation in southern CA

Case Study using Texas Kangaroo Rat Species listing and associated examples from IUCN TPWD database and information Natureserve USFWS