Measuring the Economic Benefits of America's Everglades Restoration

Measuring the Economic Benefits of America's Everglades Restoration
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 136
Release: 2010
Genre: Everglades (Fla.)
ISBN:

Everglades restoration will have important and significant economic impacts on several basic services provided by this massive and complex ecosystem. We have split these services into six distinct divisions. For each of these categories, we conservatively estimated, using best available data and economic methods, the increase in economic value of a restored Everglades ecosystem. Our analysis strongly suggests that restoration of the Everglades as described and planned in CERP will have large economic benefits. Our best estimate is that restoration will generate an increase in economic welfare of approximately $46.5 billion in net present value terms that could range up to $123.9 billion. The return on investment, as measured by the benefit-cost ratio, assuming a cost of restoration of $11.5 billion, is also high and significant, 4.04, which means for every one dollar invested in Everglades restoration $4.04 dollars are generated. Everglades restoration will also have an incremental impact on employment of about 442,000 additional workers over 50 years. In addition, the Corps of Engineers estimates there will be 22,000 jobs created as a result of the actual restoration projects. Throughout our analysis, we have taken a very conservative approach to estimation. Accordingly our best estimates almost surely understate the return on investment of Everglades restoration.

The Economics of Everglades Restoration

The Economics of Everglades Restoration
Author: Richard Weisskoff
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2005-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781781008652

'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.

The Everglades Handbook

The Everglades Handbook
Author: Thomas E. Lodge
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 473
Release: 2016-11-03
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1498742920

The fourth edition presents expanded treatment of subjects where our knowledge of the Everglades and its restoration has greatly improved. This more detailed coverage includes: Computer modeling and its applications to the Everglades environment Quantified role of water flow in shaping the Everglades landscape The origin and evolution of fixed tree islands Sulfur and related mercury as wetland pollutants Up-to-date summary of the now quantified economic benefits of restoration, shown to be far in excess of the cost The Everglades Handbook: Understanding the Ecosystem, Fourth Edition is a scholarly reference packed cover to cover with scientific information about the ecosystem of the Everglades - taking into account how drastically the Everglades has changed. Topically, the book covers disciplines ranging from ecology, geology, climatology, hydrology, anthropology to conservation biology. Written in Tom Lodge’s trademark accessible style, this extensively researched text is essential reading for anybody trying to understand the challenges we face in restoring this unique ecosystem.

Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades

Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2009-01-29
Genre: Science
ISBN: 030912574X

This book is the second biennial evaluation of progress being made in 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. Launched in 2000 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District, CERP is a multiorganization planning process that includes approximately 50 major projects to be completed over the next several decades. Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The Second Biennial Review 2008 concludes that budgeting, planning, and procedural matters are hindering a federal and state effort to restore the Florida Everglades ecosystem, which is making only scant progress toward achieving its goals. Good science has been developed to support restoration efforts, but future progress is likely to be limited by the availability of funding and current authorization mechanisms. Despite the accomplishments that lay the foundation for CERP construction, no CERP projects have been completed to date. To begin reversing decades of decline, managers should address complex planning issues and move forward with projects that have the most potential to restore the natural ecosystem.

The World's Water

The World's Water
Author: Peter H. Gleick
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 494
Release: 2014
Genre: Climatic changes
ISBN: 161091483X

Produced biennially, The World's Water is the most comprehensive and up-to-to date source of information and analysis on freshwater resources. Each new volume examines critical global trends and offers the best data available on a variety of topics related to water. Volume 8 features chapters on hydraulic fracturing (fracking), water footprints, sustainable water jobs, and desalination financing, among other timely issues. Water briefs provide concise updates on topics including the Dead-Sea and the role of water in the Syrian conflict. The World's Water is coauthored by MacArthur "genius" Peter H. Gleick and his colleagues at the world-renowned Pacific Institute. Since the first volume was published in 1998, the series has become an indispensable resource for professionals in government agencies and nongovernmental organizations, researchers, students, and anyone concerned with water and its use.

Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades

Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2013-01-04
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309259258

Twelve years into the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project, little progress has been made in restoring the core of the remaining Everglades ecosystem; instead, most project construction so far has occurred along its periphery. To reverse ongoing ecosystem declines, it will be necessary to expedite restoration projects that target the central Everglades, and to improve both the quality and quantity of the water in the ecosystem. The new Central Everglades Planning Project offers an innovative approach to this challenge, although additional analyses are needed at the interface of water quality and water quantity to maximize restoration benefits within existing legal constraints. Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The Fourth Biennial Review, 2012 explains the innovative approach to expedite restoration progress and additional rigorous analyses at the interface of water quality and quantity will be essential to maximize restoration benefits.

Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades

Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2007-04-28
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0309103355

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.

Florida Made

Florida Made
Author: George S. LeMieux
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2018-04-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 1439665370

Once considered just an insect-ridden swampland, Florida is now a top destination for tourism, business, agriculture and innovation thanks to these 25 individuals. Florida is in many ways both the oldest and newest of the megastates. The ideas and actions of a colorful cast of characters - from beloved cultural icons to political heroes and even a socialist dictator - transformed the peninsula. A Barbados native rescued Florida's orange industry after the catastrophic 1835 freeze. Known as the "Grande Dame of the Everglades," Marjory Stoneman Douglas worked tirelessly to save the state's vast, incomparable wetlands from annihilation in the early twentieth century. In the mid-1800s, a Florida doctor developed a precursor to modern air conditioning. Join former U.S. senator George LeMieux and journalist Laura Mize as they profile and rank, according to impact, the 25 trailblazers who have changed the Sunshine State forever.