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Jim Blackburn
Rice UniversityProfessor
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Co-Director, SSPEED Center
11
Landscape-Scale Non-structural Hurricane Surge Mitigation for the
Texas Coast
ÏÏ
SSPEEDSSPEED
SSPEED CenterThe Center is based out of Rice University and
collaborates with leading academic institutions, the private sector and public entities.
Major funding from Houston Endowment
ÏÏ
SSPEEDSSPEED
33Hurricane Ike
Chinese FY1-D MVISRSeptember 12, 2008 at 6:18 PM CDT
Category 2$25+ billion in damages4th costliest in U.S. History112 deaths2.6 million lost power
Hurricane Ike
Hurricane Ike Missed Most of Us
SSPEED Center Houston Endowment Grant Work
• Initial Focus on Lessons Learned From Hurricane Ike
•Developed Structural and Non-structural Suite of Alternative Solutions
•Focus Upon Non-Structural Solutions Today
66
Day Recreation Usage
Development of “Backside” of Peninsula
Flood Mitigation Based On Ecological Services and Bio-
mimicry
Spartina Alterniflora and Other Coastal Wetland Plants Define Resiliency –
Learn From The MarshEmbrace It Emulate It
Value ItTrade It
4 Days After Ike – Surge Return
Low-Lying Lands of Galveston Bay
Economy As Non-Structural Alternative
Could We Develop a Different Economy Here - -
A Resilient Economy Based on Use, Appreciation and Protection of our Natural Values?
Possible Non-Structural Economic Concepts
1. Recreation/Eco-Tourism
2.2. Natural Resource Value Trading Concept
Existing Conditions +Green Options
Lone Star Coastal National Recreation Area (LSCNRA)
Lone Star Coastal Exchange (LSCE)
Lone Star Coastal Exchange
• Intended to Offer Economic Engine to Low-lying Flood-Prone Private Property
• Based on Existence and Development of Private Sector Demand For Certain Natural Resource Functions and Values
• Examples:• Florida• Oregon • Chesapeake Bay
1212
Nature, Vol. 387, 15 May 1997
Average value of annual ecosystem services
$0
$2,000
$4,000
$6,000
$8,000
$10,000
$12,000
US$/
acre
/yea
r
Estuaries
Seagrass/algal beds
Open ocean
Tropical forest
Temperate/boreal forest
Tidal marsh/mangroves
Swamps/floodplains
Lakes/rivers
Cropland
$0
$1,000,000,000
$2,000,000,000
$3,000,000,000
$4,000,000,000
$5,000,000,000
$6,000,000,000
bays
do
llars
/year
(year
2000)
Sabine Lake
Galveston Bay
Matagorda Bay
San Antonio Bay
Aransas Bay
Corpus Christi Bay
Laguna Madre
COSTANZA’S VALUE OF TEXAS COASTAL BAYS AND
ESTUARIES
Houston WildernessEcological Capital Study
Lone Star Coastal Exchange Demonstration Area
Regulatory Market for Ecological Services
From ‘Stop It’… environmental regulation
Environmental HarmEnvironmental Harm RegulationRegulation Market StructureMarket Structure
air pollutionair pollution Clean Air ActClean Air Act
RegulationRegulation
species endangermentspecies endangerment
overfishingoverfishing
wetland losswetland loss
sprawl, imp. surface losssprawl, imp. surface loss
nitrogen runoffnitrogen runoff
Ntl. Resource DamagesNtl. Resource Damages
climate changeclimate change
Endangered Species ActEndangered Species Act
NOAANOAA
AB32, RGGI, voluntaryAB32, RGGI, voluntary
CERCLACERCLA
Clean Water ActClean Water Act
local land use regulationlocal land use regulation
Clean Water ActClean Water Act
…to aligning incentives.
air pollutionair pollution SO2 tradingSO2 trading
species endangermentspecies endangerment
overfishingoverfishing
wetland losswetland loss
sprawl, imp. surface losssprawl, imp. surface loss
nitrogen runoffnitrogen runoff
Ntl. Resource DamagesNtl. Resource Damages
climate changeclimate change
conservation bankingconservation banking
total allowable catch & ITQtotal allowable catch & ITQ
CO2 tradingCO2 trading
DSAY’sDSAY’s
TMDL’sTMDL’s
TDR’sTDR’s
wetland mitigation bankingwetland mitigation banking
Environmental HarmEnvironmental Harm Market StructureMarket Structure
Restoration Economy is robust & growing
Market StructureMarket Structure Market SizeMarket Size
$ 3.0 billion3.0 billion
$ 800 m800 m
$ 2.2 billion2.2 billion
$ 4.5 billion4.5 billion
$
(value of landed catch)
48 programs48 programs
>300 programs>300 programs
560 m
SO2 tradingSO2 trading
conservation bankingconservation banking
total allowable catch, ITQtotal allowable catch, ITQ
wetland mit. bankingwetland mit. banking
CO2 tradingCO2 trading
TDR’sTDR’s
Ntl. Resource DamagesNtl. Resource Damages
Non-Regulatory Market for Ecological Services?
•1.3 million acres of private land below 20 foot contour in Chambers, Galveston, Brazoria and Matagorda Counties
•Most have evaluated and rejected wetland mitigation banking
•Private sector farming and ranching running dry (e.g. no water, low profits)
•Would respond to private market overtures – but are there any?
Potential Opportunities•Corporate Regulatory Market
– Wetland Mitigation– Natural Resource Damages Offset– Endangered Species Habitat– Air Pollution Abatement
Potential Opportunities•Corporate Regulatory Market
•Changing Corporate Attitude– Corporate Web Sites– Coca Cola and attitude about water– Zero footprint – Carbon, Water and
Ecological
What is an Ecological Footprint?
“Ecological Footprint” is a term created by Mathis Wackernagel & William Rees
Def: ‘accounts for the flows of energy and matter to and from any defined economy and converts these into the corresponding land/water area required from nature to support these flows’
~Our Ecological Footprint
Potential Opportunities•Corporate Regulatory Market
•Changing Corporate Attitude
•Philanthropic– Foundations– NFWF – BP Spill Money
Potential Opportunities•Corporate Regulatory Market
•Changing Corporate Attitude– Corporate Web Sites– Coca Cola and attitude about water– Zero footprint – Carbon, Water and
Ecological
•Philanthropic
•Gift
Potential Opportunities•Corporate Regulatory Market
•Changing Corporate Attitude– Corporate Web Sites– Coca Cola and attitude about water– Zero footprint – Carbon, Water and Ecological
•Philanthropic
•Gift
•Government– FEMA Value Proposition– Corps of Engineers Non-Structural Sol’n
Potential Corps or FEMA Value Potential Corps or FEMA Value PropositionProposition
Marketable ConceptsMarketable Concepts•Spartina marsh expansion (with sea
level rise?)
•Tallow removal from prairie ecosystem
•Conversion of farmland to prairie
•Neotropical coastal woodlot creation and expansion
•Restoration of bottomland forests
•Endangered species habitat enhancement
Marsh footprint: 2004; 2050; 2100
Trading Platform Sellers
Buyers
Proposed Lone Star Coastal Exchange (LSCE)
Flood StorageConservation of Existing Habitat
Neo-tropical Migrant Habitat CreationCoastal Wetland Creation/Migration
Migratory Waterfowl Habitat CreationPrairie Habitat Creation
Forest Lands Habitat CreationCarbon Sequestration
Endangered Species Habitat
$
Four common elements…A pattern emerges from early innovationsTARGET UNIT
GEOGRAPHY TRANSFER
• “flood storage capacity”• “no net loss”• “public access”• “breeding habitat”
mitigation bank
• functional acres• tons CO2e• lbs of fish landed• lbs of N reduction
• service area• historical range of species• fishery• watershed
Elements of Trading Platform
•Geographic Information System
•Standard Setting
•Process for Determining Landowner Eligibility
•Project Development
•Verification
•Transaction Platform
This study has already shown that the process developed can sequester as much as 25 metric tons of CO2 per acre per year while nearly eliminating the CO2 emissions produced by current farming practices. Twenty-five tons CO2 per acre is equivalent to 6.8 tons C per acre.
Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta Study
Transaction Platform
•Connects Buyers and Sellers
•Provides Long-Term Project Registration
•Provides Credit Tracking
•Design Based on Type of Standards and Credits
•References: – www.thebaybank.org/marketplace – http://www.markit.com/sites/en/products/environmental/
markit-environmental-registry.page
Role of NGO’s in LSCE
• Working with sellers on creation of Working with sellers on creation of habitat values habitat values
•freshwater wetland creation expertisefreshwater wetland creation expertise
•prairie creation expertise prairie creation expertise
•seed supply sourceseed supply source
•marsh creationmarsh creation
• Assessment of credit valueAssessment of credit value
• Verification of credit valueVerification of credit value
• Maintaining the accountsMaintaining the accounts
Future WorkFuture Work
• Work With Potential SellersWork With Potential Sellers
• Work With Potential BuyerWork With Potential Buyer
• Work With Potential NGO PartnersWork With Potential NGO Partners
• Establish the Transaction RulesEstablish the Transaction Rules
• Establish the Trading PlatformEstablish the Trading Platform
Contact Me
• Jim Blackburn - [email protected] - [email protected]
•SSPEED Center - - http://sspeed.rice.edu/sspeed/.http://sspeed.rice.edu/sspeed/.
White Oak Bayou Watershed 1996 Floodway & 100 Year
White Oak Bayou Watershed 2007 Flood Zones
How Much Are These Wetlands Worth For Preservation?
