Transcript Nicola Eury - UK Environmental Law Association

Restoring environmental damage:
losing less and gaining more
Nicola Eury
Principal
Presentation content
• Introduce Ecosystem Services (ES) concept
• Explicit or implicit references to use of ES in
damage restoration law
• How to use an ES approach to respond to
works/enforcement notices to optimise mitigation
remediation and restoration
Ecosystem Services: “The Benefits people
obtain from ecosystems”
Ecosystem Services
Ecosystem Services Approach to dealing
with Damage
• ED Regulations 2009: remediation options must be
evaluated using best available methods, and based
on (amongst others)
– the extent to which each option benefits each component of
the natural resource or service
– the extent to which each option takes account of relevant
social, economic and cultural concerns and other relevant
factors specific to the locality
• Civil Sanctions Act 2008
– Restore the environment to the state that it would have
been in before the offence
– Where restoration is not possible, ensure equivalent benefit
elsewhere
Damage and restoration quantification
% of Services
Calculating the loss relative to
baseline
Pollutant/
Contaminant
Release
baseline services
A
services lost
Primary
Remediation
Years
Time to natural
recovery
to pre-release condition
Calculating the Gains from Restoration Options
Ecosystem Services
Impacts and benefits are based on
changes from the baseline
20%
Area B - Services Provided
(Benefit)
B
B
0%
Baseline
A
-20%
Area A - Services Lost (Loss)
Environmental Economics-based Approaches
Years
Case Example: Diesel fuel spill into river
• Diesel spill into a river
• River enters into large lake
• River is poor quality with
minimal recreational uses
• Lake provides boating,
swimming, aesthetic and
other recreational value to the
public.
Cumulative Percent (%) Recovery
Diesel Spill Recovery Curves
Water Quality
100
Baseline
80
60
40
Note: Initial point of lost services will vary
20
0
0
1
2
3
Years
4
5
Cumulative Percent (%) Recovery
Diesel Spill Recovery Curves
Water Quality
100
Macroinvertebrates
Baseline
80
60
40
20
0
0
1
2
3
Years
4
5
Cumulative Percent (%) Recovery
Diesel Spill Recovery Curves
Water Quality
100
Fish
Macroinvertebrates
Baseline
80
60
40
20
0
0
1
2
3
Years
4
5
Cumulative Percent (%) Recovery
Diesel Spill Recovery Curves
Water
Quality
Macroinvertebrates
Molluscs
Fish
100
Baseline
80
60
40
20
0
0
1
2
3
Years
4
5
Cumulative Percent (%) Recovery
Diesel Spill Recovery Curves
100
Baseline
80
60
40
20
0
0
1
2
3
Years
4
5
Quantifying Ecological Service Losses
Example: Impact to an Aquatic System
For this Example: Parameter Evaluated: Fish Density (# fish/ha)
40%
Services
20%
0%
Baseline
(1,000 fish/ha)
- 20%
A
- 40%
(600 fish/ha
= 40% Loss)
- 60%
- 80%
- 100%
(200 fish/ha = 80% loss)
Area A Represents the Loss of
Ecological Services Over Time
Units: Services per Hectare per Year: (SHY’s)
Area A = -850 discounted SHY’s
(loss over 5 years)
IMPACT
2009
2010
2011
Years
2012
2013
2014
Quantifying Ecological Service Gains
Example: In-Stream Restoration (e.g.,
physical in stream habitat modification)
% of Services
40%
20%
1,200 fish/ha (Gain = 20%)
1,100 fish/ha (Gain = 10% )
1,000 fish/ha
0%
B
Baseline
(1,000 fish/ha)
- 20%
Area B Represents the Gain of Ecological
Services Over Time
Units: Services per Hectare per Year:
(SHY’s)
- 40%
- 60%
Area B = 1,250 dSHY’s (gain over 25 years)
- 80%
Restoration
Implementation
-100%
2009
2010
2011
Years
2012
2013
2014
Providing Human Use Services
(additional credit)
User Days
e.g., Creation of Bike Trail, Hiking Trail, Park
B
Start of
Enhancement
Full
Maturity
Baseline
Services
Area B is calculated
in units of user days
generated
Years
Summary
Summary
• Civil sanctions directing polluters and their
advisers to using an ES approach to damage
valuation
• An ES approach provides defensible propositions
for restoration that are not necessarily the most
costly option
• These approaches are supported by DEFRA and
the EA
Thank you
Any Questions?
Nicola Eury
Principal, ENVIRON UK Limited
+44(0)1392 440600
[email protected]