Protecting global water sources

A study by research group Ecosystem Marketplace noted that 80 percent of the world’s countries are facing issues related to threatened water security.

A report released this week finds that more countries are turning to environmental services programs to protect sensitive water sources.

Facing increasing water scarcity, many countries are turning to environmental service payments to help mitigate the effects of climate change and pollution.

From 2008 to 2011, initiatives to protect and restore forests, wetlands and other important ecosystems have doubled in number. The report covers 205 programs around the world, 21 of them in Latin America. Globally, the number of programs has increased by 100 in three years, totaling $8.2 billion in investment, a significantly greater amount than in 2008.

Ecosystem Marketplace analysts noted that investing in programs to protect water at the source, rather than spending on treatment, could result in considerable savings for governments. It also helps to guarantee water security and provide environmental and social benefits to communities.

Another problem Latin Americans face is a general lack of water treatment infrastructure. Coupled with the effects of pollution and climate change, the lack of treatment facilities is converting a region rich in hydrologic resources into one that is highly vulnerable to problems with accessing potable water.

The study notes that China is a global leader in investing in programs to protect hydrologic resources at the source. The Asian giant accounts for 91 percent of global investments in environmental services programs protecting water. Chinese officials, for example, offer new health service benefits for residents in mountainous communities in exchange for better groundwater management, which they say will help improve potable water access.

In the United States, officials in New York chose not to invest heavily in new water treatment facilities, opting instead to implement compensation programs for farmers in the Catskills who agreed to work to reduce pollution in regional lakes, rivers and streams that provide New York City with potable water. Thanks to these efforts, New York had enough drinking water to make it through the recent Hurricane Sandy.

The study also notes that 68 other environmental services programs operate in all of North America.

“The benefits of these hydrologic programs extend well beyond water; they support biodiversity, reduce emissions and provide income to rural families,” said Genevieve Bennett, the report’s lead author.

But private-sector participation in these types of programs remains limited, despite the fact that many companies have reported problems related to water availability. Most of these types of programs are operated by nongovernmental organizations or by governments.

Posted by Costa Developers

A first step toward carbon neutrality

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Environment Ministry officials on Wednesday presented the first phase of Costa Rica’s plan to be completely carbon-neutral by 2021.

Costa Rica is the only tropical country to boast more than half of its territory is covered in forests. Officials plan to convert land used in cattle ranching and coffee farming into more forests by planting 7 million trees in coming years as part of its efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2021.

The environment Minister made public the first phase of the administration’s carbon-neutral strategy, which focuses on reducing emissions in two key sectors: energy and agriculture. Following negotiations with players in both sectors, it appears the government is further along with the former than the latter.

Last week, environment officials and researchers participated in a forum titled “Carbon Neutrality: Utopia or Reality?” They sought to answer the question on everyone’s mind: Is carbon neutrality possible for Costa Rica?

Following that forum, a sense of optimism has spread through the Environment Ministry (MINAET) and the universities participating in the groundbreaking research required to analyze the country’s current emissions and set realistic goals to achieve zero carbon emissions. The ministry is relying on experts at the University of Costa Rica and the National University (UNA) to help design their strategy.

“The numbers in black and white show [carbon neutrality] really is possible for the country. It’s not easy, but it’s possible,” said the executive director of the University of Costa Rica’s Fundecooperación para el Desarrollo Sostenible (Cooperative Fund for Sustainable Development), and a researcher collaborating with MINAET on the carbon-reduction strategy.

Costa Rica currently emits about 14.6 million tons of CO2 annually. By 2021, that number will reach 21.7 million tons, and in order for Costa Rica to reach carbon neutrality, it will have to offset or reduce emissions by 5.8 million tons in the next decade.

Based on data from the World Bank, which calculates the intensity of CO2 released per unit of production in each country, Costa Rica is one of the best countries in terms of CO2 per unit produced. According to Castro, despite economic and population growth, Costa Rica’s CO2 output per unit of production has decreased from 200 kilograms per unit to 170 kg in the past few years.

The country has another tool: its forests. A recent study concluded that 52 percent of Costa Rica is forested, up from 21 percent in 1987 thanks to a series of policies over the decades to invest in forestry conservation. That means the country has a large percentage of new, carbon-capturing forest (31 percent in the past 25 years).

Continuing that trend, the Costa Rican government, in collaboration with the National Forestry Financing Fund, is working with landowners to plant 7 million trees on cattle and coffee farms. The trees eventually will be milled for the national lumber industry and replaced with new forests. Landowners are offered an attractive 6 percent, 25-year credit for the project.

Posted By Costa Developers

Costa Cares

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