PLENARY SESSION
Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 9:00 - 10:10 am
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
The Economic Value of Urban Wetlands: Revealing our Best Investments
David Batker, Chief Economist and Executive Director, Earth Economics
Economies need nature. Ecosystems provide foundational economic goods and services, including oxygen, water, land, raw materials, food, recreation and beauty. Wetlands are no exception and provide tremendous economic value to our economy. We know that, by providing ecosystem services – protecting against flooding and other disturbances, assuring water supply, regulating greenhouse gases, supporting fisheries, maintaining wildlife habitat, providing waste treatment and a suite of additional benefits – wetlands provide billions of dollars in benefits to local and regional economies in the United States every year. Most of these benefits are provided to the public at no cost over vast spans of time.
However, more often than not, we fall short in measuring and communicating the economic value of wetlands, and as a result they’re almost never considered in policy-making and, by default, are assigned a value of zero. This can lead to underinvestment in these valuable ecosystems. Today we have the economic tools to appraise the value of wetlands and other natural capital. We can also generate maps to show where ecosystem services are provisioned, who benefits from the ecosystem services, where the services are being impaired, and how the services are transferred to beneficiaries. Through the identification, valuation and mapping of ecosystem services, Earth Economics has a track record of developing new policies, new institutions and innovative funding mechanisms for natural capital like wetlands.
This presentation will describe the methods/approach used to calculate economic values of the ecosystem services provided by wetlands and will present examples of projects in which Earth Economics has been involved in valuing natural capital, including our recent work in the Upper Mississippi (Iowa), Mississippi River Delta, and Washington State. This work has applied ecosystem service valuation to inform decision making and has been used to gain broad stakeholder support for wetland restoration projects. The Earth Economics valuation methodology has also been approved by economists for use at the federal level, and this presentation will outline how Earth Economics has been working to incorporate ecosystem service values with federal benefit-cost analysis tools.
David will also discuss the recently released study, Rapid Assessment of the Economic Value of Wisconsin’s Wetlands, that Earth Economics completed as part of a new partnership with WWA. Click here to learn more about this report.
About the Speaker
Founder and Executive Director of Earth Economics since 1998, David Batker has completed over a dozen path breaking ecological economics studies that have changed policy at the international and local levels. Mr. Batker completed his graduate training in economics under Herman Daly, one of the world’s foremost ecological economists and brings over 20 years of experience working on environmental and economic issues specializing in ecosystem service valuation, trade and international finance. His work has directly contributed to shifting lending at the World Bank, IDB, ADB, ECAs and private banks, and an exception to the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Principles and Guidelines to include the value of wetlands for storm protection in Benefit Cost Analysis in Louisiana. Mr. Batker is also working with the US Federal Emergency Management Agency to include ecosystem service values in their Benefit Cost Analysis tools. His new book, What's the Economy For, Anyway?, was named Named Best Business Book for Fall 2011 by Publishers Weekly and will be available for purchase at the conference.
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The Yakama People have been interacting with the landscapes and natural resources of Eastern Washington for thousands of years. Traditional Yakama culture evolved over time utilizing the diverse resources of the region. Accordingly, alteration of the resources and landscapes of Eastern Washington over the last 150 years has had profound effects on Yakama culture.
To address some of these impacts, the Yakama Nation has been implementing a comprehensive plan to protect and restore floodplain habitats that have been hydrologically disconnected and degraded by agricultural development on the Reservation. To date, more than 21,000 acres of floodplain wetland, riparian and upland habitats have been protected and restored using a variety of techniques.
To ensure that the traditional needs of the Yakama People are addressed in this project, an approach integrating traditional cultural knowledge and modern scientific techniques has been used. The use of this traditional knowledge compliments geomorphological and biological assessments. Management using this integrated methodology emphasizes the promotion of historic ecological conditions and the wildlife, fisheries and vegetation resources native to the region from a standpoint of human interaction with the environment. This allows for the restoration and management of resources to benefit both traditional cultural use and ecological function. Hames will provide examples that show the results of this integrated approach to restoration and management of wetlands.
Join us to meet Wisconsin Wetlands Association's new Executive Director, Tracy Hames, and to hear more about the amazing wetland protection, restoration, and management work on the Yakama Reservation for which he was a key leader over the past 22 years.
BANQUET ENTREÉ SELECTIONS
We are pleased to offer two banquet entreés, including one vegetarian.
The following entreé selections at the conference banquet:
- Banquet entrée choices: A Roasted ½ chicken dinner with mashed potatoes, velouté sauce and green beans
- Wild mushroom ravioli with steamed baby vegetables in pesto and mushroom broth
All banquet meals include a starter salad, your choice of beverage (coffee, milk, iced tea, or soda), and dessert
If you have food allergies or other dietary needs, please contact us at 608-250-9971 or register[at]wisconsinwetlands.org so that we can make arrangements to accommodate your needs.
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Tracy Hames, Wisconsin Wetlands Association Executive Director