The Economics Of Everglades Restoration

'The book provides valuable contributions on three related fronts: It places past and current debates on ecosystem restoration of the Everglades in a clear systems context that acknowledges feedback between ecosystem quality and economic growth; shows for the case of the Everglades that good intentions of providing generous financial support for restoration may lead to undesired effects that actually run counter to the original goal; and demonstrates the use of regional modeling tools to develop consistent baseline forecasts and alternative scenarios.' - Matthias Ruth, University of Maryland, College Park, US The restoration of the Florida Everglades, the largest ecosystem restoration project in the world, is now underway. Missing from the original plan, however, is a study of the region's cities and farms and the economic impact their growth will make on this already endangered ecosystem. This book provides that analysis.

This book examines the economic costs and benefits of the ecological restoration of estuaries, utilizing case studies from South Africa. Estuaries are important ecosystems from both an ecological and human perspective. Yet, in many parts of the world they are often degraded environments, facing threats from climate change, invasive species, fire and wastewater pollution. While the environmental benefits of restoring degraded environments are well discussed, this book specifically examines the economic benefits of doing so. It applies a cost-benefit analysis, which focuses on a range of key ecosystem services, including human health, fishing value, recreational value and property value. The book utlizes three detailed studies of the Swartkops estuary, the Great Brak estuary and the Knysna estuary in South Africa, but also draws out lessons that can be applied to coastal environments across the world. Overall, this book demonstrates that ecological restoration does pay and that the value of additional ecosystem services gained through restoration far exceeds the costs associated with this restoration process. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental management and restoration, ecological economics, ecosystem services and environmental conservation.

This report is the first in a congressionally mandated series of biennial evaluations of the progress being made by the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), a multibillion-dollar effort to restore historical water flows to the Everglades and return the ecosystem closer to its natural state, before it was transformed by drainage and by urban and agricultural development. The Restoration plan, which was launched in 1999 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District, includes more than 40 major projects that are expected to be completed over the next three decades. The report finds that progress has been made in developing the scientific basis and management structures needed to support a massive effort to restore the Florida Everglades ecosystem. However, some important projects have been delayed due to several factors including budgetary restrictions and a project planning process that that can be stalled by unresolved scientific uncertainties. The report outlines an alternative approach that can help the initiative move forward even as it resolves remaining scientific uncertainties. The report calls for a boost in the rate of federal spending if the restoration of Everglades National Park and other projects are to be completed on schedule.

The Florida Everglades is a large and diverse aquatic ecosystem that has been greatly altered over the past century by an extensive water control infrastructure designed to increase agricultural and urban economic productivity. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), launched in 2000, is a joint effort led by the state and federal government to reverse the decline of the ecosystem. Increasing water storage is a critical component of the restoration, and the CERP included projects that would drill over 330 aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) wells to store up to 1.65 billion gallons per day in porous and permeable units in the aquifer system during wet periods for recovery during seasonal or longer-term dry periods. To address uncertainties regarding regional effects of large-scale ASR implementation in the Everglades, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the South Florida Water Management District conducted an 11-year ASR Regional Study, with focus on the hydrogeology of the Floridan aquifer system, water quality changes during aquifer storage, possible ecological risks posed by recovered water, and the regional capacity for ASR implementation. At the request of the USACE, Review of the Everglades Aquifer Storage and Recovery Regional Study reviews the ASR Regional Study Technical Data Report and assesses progress in reducing uncertainties related to full-scale CERP ASR implementation. This report considers the validity of the data collection and interpretation methods; integration of studies; evaluation of scaling from pilot-to regional-scale application of ASR; and the adequacy and reliability of the study as a basis for future applications of ASR.

Chronicling the global industry that is revitalizing natural and man-made environments, Cunningham explores the rapid rise of restorative development, details how the information age is catalyzing the transition from development to restoration, and demonstrates how restoration is "greening" residential, commercial, and public construction.