Case Studies in Latin American Environmental Economics – Policy Relevant for Jamaica and Caribbean

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Bruce

[Thanks to Peter (Edwards) and Franklin (McDonald) for passing this along — I strongly second Peter’s points about why EE is important. When I returned from overseas many years ago I couldn’t figure why people were talking about sustainable development — what other kind was there? Unsustainable development?
  Later I came to feel the same way about ecological economics, which was largely developed near here. (Well, the Odum brothers invented it in Florida, but Robert Costanza certainly was the big “popularizer,” not far from Solomon’s Island where we used to sail on the Chesapeake.)
 
A second important point is that SMALL ISLANDS require their own, special ecological economic studies, for precisely the reasons that small island studies are important. Island systems are not just different in scale from continental systems, they differ qualitatively and require re-arrangement of some of the basic tools of EE.
 
Go to it.
 
Bruce Potter]
 
At 4:53 AM -0500 6/25/09, Franklin McDonald wrote:
>fyi
>
>———- Forwarded message ———-
>From: Peter Edwards
>Date: Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 8:13 PM
>Subject: Case Studies in Latin American >Environmental Economics – Policy Relevant for >Jamaica and Caribbean
>
>Hello All,
>
>Please see below. Two web links. The first >will take you to a page that has policy briefs >and working papers that have come out of the >Latin American and Caribbean Environmental >Economics Programme (LACEEP). My own policy >brief and working paper on tourist user fees are >included. Some of you may have seen various >versions of both.
>
>Of note there are other studies that are >very applicable to Jamaica and the Caribbean >region. I have been trying to get the UWI Econ >folks in Jamaica interested in the LACEEP > programme, not sure how successful I have been. >It is a great medium to get “junior >economists/policy trained” professionals >involved in doing policy relevant projects in >their home countries. Even a marine scientist – >turned economist like me benefited greatly from >participating.
>
>Please spread the word. Forward to CaPRI folks >and any others not on this mailing list. Mr >Mac…I know you are well connected.
>
>If you go to the first link, you will see from >the policy briefs and working papers that the >studies utilize a wide range of environmental >economics techniques. These range from >Contingent Valuation (My paper, Enrique >Sanjurio, Carlos Saldariaga) methodologies to >Experimental Economics (Rocio Moreno, Alejandra >Velez – Fisheries management/co-management >issues – relevant to Pedro Banks?- Nathalie).
>
>Other topics include policy analyses of fuel >switching gas to LNG (Jessica Coria) this topic >is notably very relevant to Jamaica right now >(see attached), also water management in Brazil >(Jose Gustavo Feres), and Payment for >Environmental Services in Costa Rica (Rodrigo >Arriagada)- this one looks at forest ecosystem >services (Cockpit Country relevant? Mike and >Susan).
>
>Please take a look at the policy briefs and then >if you need more details look at the working >papers. Please also forward to >the relevant government ministries, industry >players and think tanks. UWI needs to take the >lead and catch up with the rest of Latin >America. Our governments need balanced >information to properly manage and allocate our >scarce resources.
>
>See below
>
>Link to the list of policy briefs and working papers
>
>http://www.laceep.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=48
>
>LACEEP main web page
>
>http://www.laceep.org/
>
>By the way….
>
>For those who know me….I have decided to take >up a job offer at NOAA (National Atmospheric and >Oceanic Administration), National Marine >Fisheries Service (NMFS) working in the Office >of Habitat Conservation – my title is Natural >Resource Economist. I’ll be doing environmental >impact analyses and resource valuation stuff. I >am employed thru a NOAA contractor as us >non-nationals can’t be directly employed by the >federal government. Its been a long journey >this PhD but, the plan is to get some “foreign” >experience, and see how government can work >given the resources and legislative teeth. I’ll >do this for a bit before deciding to come >back home and run for Minister of Environment or >Prime Minister (hah hah).
 
>Again please forward these very useful links.
 
>Regards
 
>PETER
 
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Peter E.T. Edwards, PhD.
University of Delaware
Graduate College of Marine and Earth Studies
Room 312 Robinson Hall
Newark, DE 19716
http://www.ocean.udel.edu/
 
—
FJMcDonald Kingston Jamaica

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Pollution on Church Creek, South River, Anne Arundel County

Posted on June 25, 2009 by Bruce

Pollution on Church Creek, South River, Anne Arundel Count

Here is an interesting May 2009 honors thesis by US Naval Academy midshipman first class Gregory, described in the attached poster, which shows that pollution on Church Creek, a tributary of the South River on the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis, DOUBLED after the construction of a major shopping center in Parole at the head of the Church Creek watershed.

P1000599_annotated
Here’s a detail of the graphic marked to show the difference before and after the shopping center construction:

_users_brucegpotter_pictures_a
Maryland State law says that pollution after construction of “re-developed” sites should be slightly less than before the new construction. NOT DOUBLE previous levels.

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Bruce Potter
1818 Woods Road
Annapolis, MD 21401

SMS Text message to 443 454 9044@tmomail.net   (no spaces)

E-mail:         bpotter@irf.org   
TWITTER:                brucepotter
URL:            http://www.irf.org
—————————————————————-
“Ignoranti quem portem petat, nullus suus ventas est”
“If one does not know to which port one is sailing…..no wind is favorable”
– Seneca the Younger (3BC-65AD)
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South River Chessy

Posted on June 23, 2009 by Bruce
South_river_chessy_p1000844
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More Bad Experience with Environmental Impact Assessments, badly applied

Posted on June 20, 2009 by Bruce

from the British Virgin Islands Standpoint: http://www.vistandpoint.com/content/view/2898/33/

 [This new resort was built around the site of what our consultant

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Powerpoint of Current Programme of CANARI, one of the oldest & best environmental NGOs in the Caribbean

Posted on June 14, 2009 by Bruce

CANARI presentation 2.ppt

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“Caribbean Reef Collapse” predicted by Canadian Researcher

Posted on June 11, 2009 by Bruce

“Caribbean Reef Collapse” predicted byCanadian Researcher

An article unearthed by Tara Sawatsky<tara_sawatsky@yahoo.ca>  and Georgina Bustamante —

Nick Dulvy and Isabelle Cote published a paper inProceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, showing effectsof global warming on coral reefs.  It is a sad tale, but it isgetting a lot of attention and hopefully that helps, with mediapicking up the story from all over the world.  Isabelle has beenon CBC, and the Globe and Mail published the story also.  Davehas put up a notification on the Biology website and you can downloadthe paper from there.

Flat seascape
Reefs collapseacross Caribbean, study says
Researchers cite climate changein rapid and devastating decline
               
Mark Hume
Vancouver – From Wednesday’s Globe andMail, Thursday, Jun. 11, 200903:28AM EDT
There has been a massive collapse of coral reefs throughout theCaribbean, according to a joint project by researchers from SimonFraser University and the University of East Anglia in Norwich,England.
The study has found that not only are reefs dying faster and on awider scale than previously thought, but they are quickly crumblingafter they die, in a process scientists call “reefflattening.”
The scale of the collapse is massive.
etc at —  http://sn.im/jxqb6 [www_theglobeandmail_com]

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      35 Years of Environmental Service toSmall Tropical Islands
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Description of Sao Tome Extraordinary Endemism

Posted on June 10, 2009 by Bruce

Check out the download link below for the 5 meg brochure described by Ned Seligman — who runs STep Up in Sao Tome. The brochure is produced by Robert Drewes of the California Academy of Sciences

 

See the attachment.

— On Wed, 6/10/09, Ned Seligman <ned_stepup@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Ned Seligman <ned_stepup@yahoo.com>
Subject: Hot off the Press!!
To: “Corinne Abel” <corinneabel@mac.com>
Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2009, 11:55 AM

Dear STeP UP Supporters – The attached article just came out in the newsletter of the California Academy of Sciences.  Hope you find it interesting.

Best to you – Ned

 

GofG live article 2009.pdf

 

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      35 Years of Environmental Service to Small Tropical Islands

 

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From yesterday’s ‘Washington Post’

Posted on May 22, 2009 by Bruce
To all you security/piracy buffs outthere, the “USS Nashville” referred to here is the ship whichbrought us the wheelchairs from the Mobility Project in WashingtonState last month.
On a separate but related note, OmarBongo, the Gabonese strongman of 40+ years, appears to be on hisdeathbed (scarcely if at all mentioned in the US press).  Once heexits, what will happen in the neighborhood?  Staytuned!!
Ned Seligman
Executive Director
STEP-UP in Sao Tome

U.S. Outreach On Rough Seas Off Western Africa
Naval Effort Seeks to BuildStability, Trust in Strategic Region
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, May 21, 2009
PORT GENTIL, Gabon — It took theGabonese sailors days to get one of their small African country’s fewpatrol boats fueled up. But once they had zoomed out into the Atlantic, it was less than an hour before they spotted trouble. There on thehorizon was a blue trawler, which they soon found was manned by aChinese crew, brimming with fish and lacking the required permits,catch logs and immigration documents.
“We could do this all day,”one Gabonese officer said about tracking down seabornelawbreakers.
But the exercise last month was madepossible by the United States , which bought gas for the boat andorganized the patrol squad’s training from a hulking Navy ship thatwas docked nearby. The USS Nashville had stopped at this coastal oiltown during a five-month mission to train navies on Africa’s westernedge to police the Gulf of Guinea , which military officials andanalysts warn could become as anarchic as the pirate-infested seas offSomalia , on the continent’s opposite coast.
The two-year-old effort is onewindow into Africa’s growing strategic importance to the United States, which last year launched a controversial command on the continentthat officials said would focus on preventing wars as much as fightingthem. In the Gulf of Guinea , officials say, helping African naviescould promote stability, build economies that will require less U.S.aid and secure shipping routes in a region that sends as much crudeoil to the United States as does the Persian Gulf .
“The majority of people on thisship are there to ensure that the sea lines of communication, whichessentially means commerce, which essentially means economies, aresafe,” said Tushar R. Tembe, the Nashville ‘s captain. “Sothat years from now, maybe the United States Navy won’t have to comedown here to patrol the seas.”
The waters off Western Africa areplagued with problems. Illegal fishing — which Somalia ‘s piratesalso cite as one reason for their attacks — strips an estimated $1billion in yearly revenue from sub-Saharan Africa . Desperate migrantspack into small boats for often deadly journeys north to Europe orsouth from Benin , Togo or Ivory Coast to relatively prosperous Gabon. South American traffickers shipping drugs to Europe have made thefailed state of Guinea-Bissau a key transit stop.
Military officials acknowledge thatthe goal of the U.S. effort, dubbed the Africa Partnership Station, isdaunting. The governments of this region, which stretches from Senegalsouth to Angola , include some of the world’s most corrupt. Nearly allhave weak navies and maritime laws, poor communications technology andlittle money.
Obvious Obstacles
Some of those obstacles wereapparent during the Gabonese fisheries-patrol exercise. The trawlerhad no catch log, as required by law. Among the 19,000 pounds of fishfound on it were 450 pounds of shrimp, which the vessel was notlicensed to catch.
But Gabonese law does not specifyhow a log is to be kept or what percentage of a catch can be a”non-target species” — loopholes likely to help the crewescape punishment. Back on shore, a fishing inspector, whose elegantsuit indicated he spent little time at the docks, quickly declared theboat Gabonese-owned, called the owner and said the owner did indeedhave the necessary paperwork — in his office, not on theboat.

“They are going to give moneyto someone,” said Lt. Cmdr. Antonio Mourinha, a Portuguese navalofficer working with the U.S.-led mission. “It happens all overthe world.”
Gulf of Guinea waters are now theworld’s most perilous after Somalia ‘s, the International MaritimeBureau says. That is largely due to robberies and kidnappings inNigeria ‘s oil-rich Niger Delta by seafaring militants who manyexperts say are aided by government and military officials. Theirattacks have cut Nigeria ‘s oil exports by about 20 percent since 2006and have recently spread south to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.
That worries Equatorial Guinea ‘sneighbor Gabon , a former French colony of 1.5 million people. Oilwealth and the nearly 42-year rule of President Omar Bongo, whoWestern diplomats say has used cash to quell opposition, have kept thecountry one of the most peaceful in a rough neighborhood. But illegalfishing is common, as are the boatloads of unauthorized migrants luredby stability. And Gabon ‘s oil could become a target of rebels fromthe north.
“We never know what mighthappen,” said Lt. j.g. Moussavou Ghislain, an officer in thecountry’s 400-member navy. “We have never had warhere.”
On a recent day, Ghislain gave atour of the fleet at this oil town’s crumbling naval base, the mainone in Gabon . It did not take long.
Several defunct vessels served asfloating barracks. One of two French-built patrol ships had recentlybeen repaired; the other had been “out of order” for 14years. Nearby, American sailors were affixing U.S.-donated mounts tothe four patrol boats — three of which worked — so the Gabonesecould display their machine guns.
Ghislain said one of the navy’sbiggest problems is procuring fuel, the absence of which delayed thefisheries exercise for several days. The government does not provideenough for regular patrols, he said, adding, “We cannot go veryfar.”
Wooing Nations
In Gabon last month, U.S. Marinesand Gabonese naval forces practiced rescuing the government fromrebels in a land-and-sea battle scenario. But most of the training –including small-boat maintenance, maritime law enforcement and oilspill prevention — involved no high-seas action. The Nashville doesno counterpiracy operations and steered clear of the Niger Delta on astop in Nigeria .
In fact, the U.S. ship’s missionappears to be as much about wooing Africa as about teaching maritimesecurity. Many African countries expressed deep suspicion of theUnited States ‘ intentions for its Africa Command, or Africom, afterit was announced in 2007.
At each port of call, a U.S. Navyband performs, doctors do checkups and sailors refurbish buildings.Officers stress that the mission is international — about 10 percentof the Nashville ‘s 500-member crew is made up of naval officers fromEurope, Africa and Brazil. The ship visits countries only by invitation,not to preach but to show “our African partners” that Africa”is no longer subordinate to other regions,” said themission commander, Capt. Cynthia M. Thebaud.
“It’s about changing attitudes,but not in a dictatorial way,” said Mark Fitzsimmons, a Britishnaval commander who is one of the ship’s top officers.
After meeting with fierce resistancefrom several African nations, Africom shelved plans to build aheadquarters in Africa and is staying in Germany for now, according to military officials.Furor among African leaders has diminished, and this year one of themost vocal early detractors, Nigeria , invited the Nashville tovisit.
Lt. Cmdr. George Azuike, a Nigerianofficer serving on the ship, acknowledged that some of his compatriotsbelieve U.S. interest is centered on securing oil but said, “Wehave to sell oil, and somebody has to buy it.” A Sierra Leoneanofficer said countries that “walk around with a begging bowl”are in no position to isolate themselves.
“But the challenge right now iswe have to get more African navies inside this, so that the Africanscan be not just partners but the people acting toward safety andsecurity,” said J.P. Tine, a Senegalese naval officer who serveson the Nashville. “If not, it’s just going to be a U.S.-ledproject . . . just another foreign organization comingaround.”
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Global Comparative Risk from Tropical Cyclones

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Bruce
Note high risks for islands . . .

more information at

http://sn.im/ijzla  [www_preventionweb_net] 

risk of tropical cyclones.pdf

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Spill Consequences One Year On: Guimaras Island, Philippines

Posted on May 3, 2009 by Bruce
from the Business Mirror, on-line newspaper of the Philippines .. .

Guimarasoil-spill survivors recover but scarred

Regions
SUNDAY, 03 MAY 2009 17:54
MORE than two years after theoil spill off Guimaras island, people from communities that wereaffected by the tragedy have recovered and are now back on their feet,though scarred by incident.
The communities were in the provinces of Guimaras andIloilo.

While sporadic traces of oil and grease left behind by the coastalcleanup to restore the region’s marine ecosystem have by now beenswept away by the rains and the tides-Mother Nature’s way ofcleansing itself of toxic pollution-the scars left behind in theminds of the people still remain.

Oil and grease are a grimreminder of what happened after the August 11, 2006, sinking of the MVSolar 1, the tanker chartered by Petron Corp. It spilled over 2million liters of bunker fuel oil and affected 36 coastal barangays inGuimaras, including the Taklong Island National Marine Reserve, sixcoastal areas in Ajuy and one in Concepcion in Iloilo.

Water quality in Guimaras and Iloilo, as far as the Department ofEnvironment and Natural Resources (DENR) is concerned, has greatlyimproved.  Only two areas-sitio Magamay and sitio Almansor inLapaz, Nueva Valencia-still have traces of oil and grease over thenormal reading level of 3 micrograms per liter.

Water monitoring for oil and grease in Guimaras and Iloilo were doneon a regular basis through 59 monitoring sites that covered 954hectares through the municipalities of San Lorenzo, Sibunag in NuevaValencia, Guimaras, and Ajuy and Concepcion, Iloilo. 

The oil spill has affected over 1,000 hectares of mangrove areas,destroyed coral reefs, killed seabeds and seagrass and other marinelife, and drove away fish that used to feed in the coastal waters.
For days immediately after the oil spill, people in coastalcommunities in the province of Guimaras experienced hunger, fear andself-pity.

Today, the scars left behind by the incident continue to haunt thepeople there-the thought of what they’d experienced, and the fearof experiencing it again. This, despite the fact that traces of oil onGuimaras island and in Iloilo have been washed away by the rains andthe tides.

“We will never forget what happened here. It has taught us valuablelessons in life. It has taught us about family. It has taught us moreabout nature and the environment,” said Nonoy Celiz, a fishermanfrom barangays Lapaz, Nueva Valencia, which was severely damaged bythe oil spill.

Now a barangay kagawad, Celiz said the tragedy also reminds many ofhow they survived the oil spill and its impact on theenvironment.

“We woke up one day with oil every-where. Sometimes, we had nothingto eat. We couldn’t go out fishing.?Our children had to skip school. We wereafraid nobody would come and help us. We were losing hope,” hesaid.

“We were supposed to fish that night. The oil was already near theshores.?The next morning, we heardnews about the sinking of the vessel carrying oil,” herecalled.

According to Celiz, the oil spill effectively prevented fishermen fromgoing fishing-the main source of income and way of life for many inNueva Valencia at that time.

Like many who were affected by the oil spill, the Celiz family andothers who live in barangay Lapaz are still struggling from economicdislocation.

“Before, I was earning P800 a night. I only needed to go out fishingtwice a week to support my family. But because of the oil spill, mychildren stopped going to school. Sometimes we were hungry, havingnothing to eat because the oil was still there.”

Elena Gemma Penaflor, president of the Lapaz Coastal DevelopmentAssociation, tells of a similar story. She said she was alreadydistributing fish to malls when the oil spill struck and changed herfortune.

“When we went out fishing, we earned P10,000 a night. But after thespill, our income was substantially reduced.  Eventually, becauseof the effect of the oil spill, we stopped our operations,” shesad.

Ernie Cabrilles, president of the San Roque Coastal EnvironmentProgram Association, also observed that the quality of the fish in thearea has deteriorated.

“Before, the fish tasted good. But now, the fish we catch isn’tthe same,” he said.

Celiz, however, said in less than a week after the oil spill, helpcame. Various stakeholders bonded together to help clean up themess.

National government agencies gave them relief goods, jobs through thecoastal cleanup, and even livelihood training on vegetable productionand livestock raising of chicken, goats and hogs.

Today, people in the coastal communities and upland areas are gettingthe much-needed support from various government institutions as partof the rehabilitation effort in Guimaras and Iloilo.

Celiz, Penaflor and Cabrilles are beneficiaries of a livelihoodproject initiated by the DENR Western Visayas and the ProvincialEnvironment and Natural Resources Office (Penro) in Guimaras as partof the rehabilitation effort of the affected areas in the twoprovinces.

The DENR Western Visayas and Penro in Guimaras and Iloilo currentlyhave 12 projects that are now in various stages ofimplementation.

Dubbed as the Taklong Integrated National Marine Reserve (TINMAR), theproject aims to develop Taklong Island as an ecotourism destination.The community will run and manage TINMAR.

The TINMAR Eco Park Project, however, is being derailed by the releaseof P65.728 million as national government calamity fund for therehabilitation of Guimaras and Iloilo. As of March 31, 2009, theDepartment of Budget Management has only released P25.26 million or38.4 percent of the total budget.
As of March 31, 2009, only 7.5 percent of the mobilization fund wasreleased to the contractor. But almost 75 percent of theinfrastructure component is already completed based on its plans,design and specifications. The structures include the informationcenter in sitio Alman Sur, barangay Lapaz, and water system and bunkhouse or multipurpose hall on Piagao island.

The Penro in Guimaras, headed by forester Raul Lorilla, said itexpects P9 million from the calamity fund within the next two monthsto partially pay various contractors for their services.
Another eco-park project derailed by such release of fund is theEco-Park Development in Dagsa-an CBFM Project. The P2.38-millionproject has yet to start.

“The development of the eco-parks is an important component of therehabilitation effort of the government in Guimaras. This will notonly promote our town, but will help the level of awareness about theimportance of protecting the environment among the people,” hesaid.

However, budget constraint is holding back Guimaras from taking off ineconomic terms from the 2006 disaster.

Alicia Lustica, regional technical director for Western Visayas of theDENR, said despite delays in the release of funds, the mangroverehabilitation in affected areas continue with the establishment of amangrove plantation covering 301.7191 hectares and worth P5million.

A total of 89.38 hectares of various mangrove species within themunicipalities of Sibunag and San Lorenzo, Buenavista and Jordan havebeen completed. There are also ongoing seedlings production andplanting activities.

In the Iloilo province, a total of 26.4 hectares of the 170 hectarestargeted have been planted with mangroves within the municipalities ofConcepcion and Ajuy. Likewise, there’s an on-going seedlingsproduction and planting activities in the two towns.

She said various livelihood projects have been set in motion, almostimmediately after the oil spill, as part of the DENR’srehabilitation effort and intervention.

 “We did not let budget constraints get in our way. We did notsacrifice what we believe are important undertakings in therehabilitation of Guimaras and Iloilo,” she added.
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