Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Interim Report (2012) / Chapter Skim
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Introduction
Introduction
Pages 17-30
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From page 17... ...
The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 creates a formal legal framework for determining when an oil spill results in an "injury" (defined as an observable or measurable adverse change in a natural resource or impairment of a natural resource service) to the "trust" resources or resource services.1 A See http://www.epa.gov/oem/content/lawsregs/opaover.htm.
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From page 18... ...
, is remarkably rich and complex and provides a wealth of ecosystem services. The Gulf of Mexico provides important regulating, supporting, and cultural services, which include coastal tourism with an estimated worth of $19.7 billion per year (National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, 2011)
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From page 19... ...
The long-term development and maintenance of oil and gas extraction infrastructure has generated a wealth of hydrocarbon resources from the GoM. In 2009, this extensive infrastructure generated offshore production of 29 percent of the total crude oil and 12 percent of the natural gas in the United States2; annual oil production in the GoM exceeded 1.6 million barrels of oil per day)
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From page 20... ...
The natural processes of sedimentation and delta construction that have formed and evolved the region's landforms over millennia are no longer in place. Before construction of the Mississippi River basin flood control structures, approximately 400 million metric tons of sediment were delivered annually to the Delta; today it is approximately 145 million met ric tons (National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, 2011)
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From page 21... ...
Thus any analysis of the impact of the DWH spill on ecosystem services in the GoM must include consideration that the Gulf has been, and continues to be, affected by nonspill-related phenomena and that the baselines against which the impact of the spill must be judged are both spatially and temporally dynamic. The magnitude and depth of the DWH event, in concert with the complexity of the GoM LME and the difficulties in establishing baseline values, pose serious challenges to those charged with carrying out the NRDA process, which historically has been applied to shallow-water events of much more limited extent and scale (see Box 2.1 on the North Cape Oil Spill)
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From page 22... ...
Over a third of them were stillborn and newborn calves. These strandings led to much media attention, public outcry, and the speculation that they were associated with the DWH spill.
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From page 23... ...
Recognizing the unique aspects of the DWH spill (magnitude, duration, depth, and complexity of the ecosystems involved) and the ramifications of in the first three months of the year, nearly 300 dead bottlenose dolphins were found on beaches from Florida to Texas?
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From page 24... ...
the challenges that the DWH spill will place on the ongoing NRDA process and seeks input from the NAS on new approaches that may aid and comple ment the NRDA process. In particular the Statement of Task focuses on an "ecosystem services" approach (NRC, 2005a)
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From page 25... ...
were provided in the GoM LME prior to the oil spill? How do these differ among the subregions of the GoM?
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From page 26... ...
Chapter 2 explores the typical practice of damage assessment and introduces the ecosystem services approach to damage assessment. Chapter 3 describes methodologies for establishing baseline information for ecosystem services and, where pos sible, discusses existing baseline data.
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From page 27... ...
Each habitat provides distinct services that need to be accounted for in any valuation of the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The geographic, oceanographic, and ecological contexts of the GoM LME are discussed in Chapter 1.
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From page 28... ...
Approaches to valuation of ecosystem services will be discussed in Chapter 4. Baseline: The condition of the natural resources and services that would have existed had the incident not occurred.5 Within the context of the DWH spill and a system like the GoM that has numerous factors impacting ecosystem health, the concept is to establish conditions "but for the spill." Approaches for establishing baselines for various ecosystem services and baseline data sources (if available)
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From page 29... ...
As described in the NRC report Increasing Capacity for Stewardship of Oceans and Coasts (2008b) , "Resilience thinking is one new approach to addressing the decline in the capacity of communities, ecosystems, and landscapes to provide essential services.
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