The Law and Policy of Ecosystem Services

by Ruhl, J. B.; Kraft, Steven; Lant, Christopher

• ISBN13: 9781559630955
• ISBN10: 1559630957
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-05-21
• Publisher: Island Pr

Summary

The Law and Policy of Ecosystem Servicesis the first comprehensive exploration of the status and future of natural capital and ecosystem services in American law and policy. The book develops a framework for thinking about ecosystem services across their ecologic, geographic, economic, social, and legal dimensions and evaluates the prospects of crafting a legal infrastructure that can help build an ecosystem service economy that is as robust as existing economies for manufactured goods, natural resource commodities, and human-provided services. The book examines the geographic, ecological, and economic context of ecosystem services and provides a baseline of the current status of ecosystem services in law and society. It identifies shortcomings of current law and policy and the critical areas for improvement and forges an approach for the design of new law and policy for ecosystem services. Included are a series of nine empirical case studies that explore the problems caused by society's failure to properly value natural capital. Among the case study topics considered are water issues, The Conservation Reserve Program, the National Conservation Buffer Initiative, the agricultural policy of the European Union, wetland mitigation, and pollution trading. The Law and Policy of Ecosystem Servicesis a groundbreaking look at the question of whether and how law and policy can shape a sustainable system of ecosystem service management. It is an accessible and informative work for faculty, students, and policy makers concerned with ecology, economics, geography, political science, environmental studies, law, and related fields.

Author Biography

Christopher L. Lant is professor of geography and environmental resources and codirector of the environmental resources and policy program at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
The Context of Ecosystem Services	p. 13
Ecology	p. 15
Geography	p. 36
Economics	p. 57
The Status of Ecosystem Services in Law and Policy	p. 85
Property Rights	p. 87
Regulation	p. 127
Social Norms	p. 158
Empirical Case Studies in Ecosystem Services Law and Policy	p. 169
An Odyssey on 6,000 Acres: Pre-1670 to 2006	p. 171
Water: Blue, Green, and Virtual	p. 177
The Conservation Reserve Program 1985-2006: From Soil Erosion to Ecosystem Services	p. 186
The National Conservation Buffer Initiative: Ecosystem Services from Riparian Buffers	p. 193
From Amber to Green: The Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union	p. 198
Ecosystem Services from an Agricultural Watershed: The Case of Big Creek	p. 205
Wetland Mitigation Banking: An Ecosystem Market without Ecosystem Services	p. 213
Ecosystem Services and Pollution Trading I: A Sulfurous Success and a Nutritious Failure	p. 222
Ecosystem Services and Pollution Trading II: Carbon Trading to Ameliorate Global Warming	p. 231
Designing New Law and Policy for Ecosystem Services	p. 249
Drivers and Models	p. 251
Trade-Offs and Transitions	p. 258
Instruments and Institutions	p. 265
Conclusion	p. 293
Endnotes	p. 297
References	p. 305
About the Authors	p. 333
Index	p. 335
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