Restoring the Everglades Wetlands: Biodiversity

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Restoration
The Importance of Restoring the Everglades
Effects of Human Settlement on the Everglades
Recommendation and Solutions
Conclusion
References

Introduction

The Everglades is a rain fed wetland that used to cover the area starting from Lake Okeechobee southwards to Florida Bay (McCally, 1999). The gentle flowing shallow water moved as a massive body through diverse landscapes from mangroves bays to grasslands marshes completing the movement at Florida Bay. From as early as the eighteenth century, drainage of this wetland has been taking place and as at today, over half of its total area has been drained off. This is mainly brought about by the pressure put on the ecosystem by the increasing human settlement in the area. The spectacular biodiversity and productivity of South Florida’s Everglades’ ecosystem is endangered by the immense diversions of fresh water.

These water diversions aim at controlling floods in the wetland areas and providing water for urban and agricultural use (National Research Council, 2003). With credible research studies projecting double population numbers for South Florida by the year twenty fifty, an effective system of sustainable water use is compulsory if the ecosystem is to withstand the rising human pressure. This essay discusses the biodiversity challenges facing the Everglades and what measures can be put in place to mitigate these challenges. It will also examine the restoration goals and look at the relationship between human activities and ecological sustainability of the natural system.

Restoration

Research institutions among them Universities and several state and federal agencies have embarked on restoring the Everglades. The agencies include the U.S Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S National Park Service, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, the World Wildlife Foundation, South Florida Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Numerous biodiversity challenges have been identified by most of these agencies but the most important restoration challenges documented are: Mercury Contamination, Hydro pattern, Vegetation changes and loss, Eutrophication and Endangered and exotic species.

The legislature in Florida enacted a number of statutes under the Florida Water Resources Act to protect and restore the Everglades. The Act lays out the functions and roles of the Department of Environmental Protection and the South Florida Water Management District in restoration of the Everglades. The Everglades Restoration Investment statute assigns the South Florida Water Management District the responsibility of funding most of the restoration activities. However, some other restoration programmes are being implemented and funded by either Non Governmental Organizations or the state and federal government.

A plan aiming at restoring the ecosystem and still provide sufficient water for urban and agricultural use was made and approved by the U.S. Congress in the year 2000. The plan called The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan was projected to take over thirty years in implementation at a cost of around eight billion US dollars. The plan’s restoration activities are currently ongoing and they reconcile the competing needs of the ecosystem and those of the human population. As much as there is need to restore the Everglades natural system, any restoration plan must factor in and consider the socio-economic needs of the area (Bonnie, 2010).

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) has sufficiently integrated the socio economic aspects of the region. During the commencement of the plan the US Vice President then, Al Gore, stated that it was hard to choose between a healthy environment and a strong economy in South Florida because the two are inseparable. The CERP has two sets of goals namely: Enhancing ecological standards and improving economic values and social well being.

A consultative stakeholders’ forum called by Florida’s Governor established that the Everglades’ future was to be secured by ensuring sustainable usage of water and by restoring natural water flow systems that had been interrupted by years of drainage. The World Wildlife Foundation realized that most restoration efforts neglected Lake Okeechobee, which was the source of most of the water that generally fed the Everglades.

The World Wildlife Foundation reacted by formulating a plan for conserving and restoring the Lake. The World Wildlife Foundation prioritized three restoration goals. The first one was proper implementation of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan through an organized and effective conservation programme. The second goal was improvement of the water quality and water resource management. The final one being establishment of eco friendly, feasible and sustainable agricultural production activities.

The Importance of Restoring the Everglades

The cost of restoration activities may appear colossal in terms of funding costs, time and other resources but the long term benefits surpass the cost of restoration. It may take years to complete the restoration process but the results will be very beneficial both to mankind and the environment. If the restoration is done right and sustainability maintained, many generations of human settlements will depend on the Everglades. The Everglades ecosystem supports Florida’s vibrant multi billion dollar fishing and tourism industry which is the lifeline of thousands of people not only in Florida but also the larger U.S (Mazzotti, Elizabeth, Nicholas &Tom, 2004).

If the ecosystem is totally destroyed, many lives will be affected; jobs, families and even homes lost. The negative effects will also be felt by wildlife and the vegetation too. Most importantly, the climate will be adversely affected by the destruction of this natural system; destruction of wetlands like the Everglades is a big contributor to global warming. All the above reasons justify why the restoration of this biodiversity is an investment worth much more than the money and other resources agencies put into it.

Effects of Human Settlement on the Everglades

Human settlements have existed in South Florida for many years. In the early years the human settlements and the indigenous subsistence way of life did not affect the balance of nature at the Everglades ecosystem. As from 1880, the region experienced an exponential population growth that made history in the U.S (McCally, 1999). Population increased by over 100 percent per decade for over ten consecutive decades. Consequently, part of the wetlands was hived off for agricultural and other human uses.

Recommendation and Solutions

An important step in solving the Everglades’ problem is human population stabilization. The relationship between population increase and strain on land can be solved by population stabilization. This is the most practical way of reducing strain on land use with sustainable controls (Kolankiewicz and Beck, 2001). The human population in South Florida absolutely needs the Everglades for its survival. Without this natural biodiversity normal life in South Florida would have been insupportable.

This is the reason why measures like population stabilization need to be undertaken so that the Everglades is can support a sustainable human population density, consequently, preserving the ecosystem. Population growth management programs in South Florida should be enhanced and increased. There are currently some population management programmes in the region. Although the programmes have not had much impact, the Everglades natural system would be worse off without these programs.

Conclusion

Reconciling rapid growth in population and socio economic development in a delicate ecosystem is a difficult but important undertaking that restoration agencies must do for the next thirty to fifty years. Restoration of the each of the diverse landscapes of the Everglades should be ensured. The wetland’s vivacity and permanency should be guaranteed. Sustainable agricultural activities and urban water use should be advocated for by restoration agencies as sustainable practices play an important role in conserving the biodiversity. With proper implementation of the laid down restoration plans, the Everglades will definitely regain it’s fading natural and hydrological vigor.

References

Bonnie, K. (2010). The Human Context for Everglades Restoration: The South Florida Case Study. Yale University Publications 35(4), 98-100. Web.

Kolankiewicz, L., & Beck, R. (2001). Forsaking fundamentals the environmental establishment abandons U.S. population stabilization. Washington D.C: Center for Immigration Studies.

Mazzotti, F., Elizabeth, F., Nicholas, G., &Tom, A. (2004). The Role of Flow in the Everglades Landscape. University of Florida, IFAS Extension. Web.

McCally, D. (1999). The Everglades: An Environmental History. Florida: University Press of Florida.

National Research Council. (2003). Does Water Flow Influence Everglades Landscape Patterns? Washington DC: National Academies Press.

Click Here To Order Now!