Everglades Case Study

1 Everglades Basin countries United States of America (South Florida) Summary of basin characteristics Today, half of the original Everglades have been drained. Large quantities of fresh water have been he Everglades is a rain-fed, flooded grass- diverted to drain land for agriculture and to provide land/wetland that once extended from Lake flood control for coastal cities. Almost 2.5 billion TOkeechobee in the north to Florida Bay in the cubic metres (2 million acre-feet) of water are south. The slow-moving, shallow water flowed as a diverted from the natural system annually, damaging vast sheet through varied landscapes from sawgrass the ecology of the coastal estuaries. Polluted and marshes to mangrove estuaries, ending its journey by nutrient-rich water flowing into Florida Bay is mixing with the seawater of Florida Bay. adversely impacting marine habitats including fragile Managing Rivers Wisely 2 Everglades coral reefs. Saltwater intrusion has become a serious Everglades system. Half the original wetlands are problem, making it necessary to drill deeper fresh- gone, the waters that formerly flooded them now water wells inland away from coastal urban areas. diverted out to sea, while canals, roads and other Ironically, this has led to water-use restrictions in one structures fragment the remaining areas. Urban of North America’s wettest regions. stormwater and agricultural runoff have polluted Lake Okeechobee and disrupted the balance of nutri- Socio-economic importance ents in wetland areas to the south. Invasive exotic The Everglades support major industries and provide species now dominate habitats that once supported South Florida’s drinking water, supporting the explo- tropical and neotropical plants and animals. sive development of one of the fastest growing and An ambitious stakeholder consultation process – economically dynamic regions in the United States. the Governor’s Commission for a Sustainable South Due to massive diversions of fresh water, largely for Florida – determined that the future of the Everglades flood control in areas that were formerly wetlands, ecosystem depended on securing more sustainable the remarkable biological diversity and productivity development and water use in South Florida and of the entire South Florida ecosystem is at risk. Yet restoring natural hydrological linkages and flow this diversity and productivity are at the very heart of regimes that had been disrupted by a century of the region’s vital multibillion-dollar tourism and drainage. The Commission recommended a sweep- fishing industries. With South Florida’s population ing, 30-year plan of management changes and eco- projected to double by 2050, a robust system of sus- logical restoration projects, which were to become tainable use is required if the Everglades are to sur- the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. vive the growing human pressure. WWF recognized that the plan was incomplete in that it largely neglected Lake Okeechobee, the Biodiversity values source of much of the water that historically fed the Everglades. WWF responded by developing a pro- Within the Everglades ecosystem there are some gramme for conservation and restoration of the Lake. 11,000 species of seed-bearing plants, 25 varieties of Thus, for WWF and its partners, the priority issues orchid, both tropical palms and temperate oak trees, are as follows. and cactus and yucca. There are 400 species of land and water vertebrates and numerous invertebrates, ■ Achieve passage and successful implementation including the Florida applesnail Pomacea paludosa, of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration which is the sole food of an endangered bird of prey, Plan (CERP) through well-coordinated and the snail kite Rostrhamus sociabilis. effective conservation advocacy, by: More than 300 other bird species occur, though the breeding populations of many wading birds are – opposing attempts to weaken the CERP’s only 10 per cent of former numbers. For example, in commitment to natural system restoration 1960 there were more than 2,300 wood storks – securing the codification of specific restora- Mycteria americana nesting in South Florida. By tion goals 1987, the average annual breeding population had – providing the Everglades with legal standing declined to just 374. vis-à-vis water management, flood protec- Overall, there are 68 federally listed threatened tion, and land use or endangered plant and animal species, including – ensuring a strong and effective federal/state the Florida panther Felis concolor, West Indian man- partnership and independent scientific atee Trichechus manatus, and American crocodile review. Crocodilus acutus. ■ Improve water quality and water management in Priority issues for river basin Lake Okeechobee, by: management – transforming the public conception of Lake Okeechobee from ‘reservoir’ to ‘natural The dramatic growth of the human population in system’ South Florida has placed tremendous strains on the – adopting acceptable water management Everglades 3 schedules that ensure the protection of littoral grammes and policies that will accelerate zones and wildlife in the Lake and associated adoption of these practices by farmers and channels and estuaries ranchers – advocating greater water storage in northern – identifying the important ecological com- basins to remove pressure on the lake’s water modities produced on agricultural lands – levels food and fibre, clean water, healthy soil, car- – advocating implementation of nutrient con- bon sequestration, biodiversity conservation trol measures and initiating removal of phos- – and the ways in which agriculturists can phorus-laden sediments from the lake maximize conservation benefits – removing invasive exotic species. – facilitating development of programmes that provide incentives to increase water storage ■ Foster environmentally and economically viable and phosphorus reduction capacity on agri- agricultural production systems that are compat- cultural land. ible with a restored Lake Okeechobee- Everglades ecosystem, by: Role of WWF and its partners – working with the agricultural community to identify better management practices that WWF was a leader in the environmental community prevent nutrient runoff, soil erosion, and/or during the development of the CERP and advocated pesticide use that contribute to the degrada- strongly with its partners for the timely delivery of an tion of water quality in the Everglades sys- adequate conceptual plan to the US Congress in tem, and identifying the federal and state pro- 1999. Sawgrass marsh in the Everglades. Galen Rowell Managing Rivers Wisely 4 Everglades WWF chaired the Everglades Coalition (com- requires a well-coordinated and integrated pro- posed of 41 environmental, civic, and recreational gramme to build a long-term stewardship ethos organizations) during the eight-month legislative among key stakeholders. A number of WWF’s activ- process that led to the passage of the landmark Water ities are centred on this aspect. Resources Development Act of 2000, which author- ized the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Restoration and management of upstream water WWF’s call for a strong role within the CERP sources to achieve downstream restoration and for the Department of Interior, an independent scien- management goals: WWF is working with the con- tific review, quantifiable interim restoration goals, servation community to create a strategic plan – a and legal ‘set-asides’ of water for the natural system ‘roadmap’ – for ensuring the successful restoration of has resulted in considerable press and Congressional Lake Okeechobee, the source of much of the water in attention to these issues, and has kept them in the the Everglades system. At the outset, this means pro- forefront of the debate over new federal regulations viding stakeholders with a better understanding of to govern restoration. the importance of a living lake, encouraging the nec- Working with staff at the regional water man- essary coordination and focus, and infusing the con- agement district level, WWF is developing and pro- servation effort with badly needed resources. As part posing additional, appropriate language to improve of this process, an interactive website is being devel- water use permit approvals, conditions and duration oped that will serve to educate and empower people so that they do not threaten the viability of the CERP. to take action for the lake. WWF played a key role in the stakeholder process of evaluating and crafting the South Florida Encouraging sustainable agriculture by working Water Management District’s environmental release with the Florida cattle industry to identify better protocols for Lake Okeechobee – the first step management practices that are economically and towards balancing water supply, flood protection and ecologically sustainable: While WWF’s priority is environmental protection for Lake Okeechobee. to accomplish full restoration of the Everglades, this WWF facilitated discussion between environ- cannot be done without finding common ground mentalists and ranchers in an effort to build trust, between individuals, businesses, and organizations identify overlapping interests, and identify mutually interested in maintaining an ecologically and eco- beneficial activities that promote economically viable nomically viable South Florida. From both a political and ecologically sustainable cattle-ranching practices. and pragmatic perspective, WWF recognizes the importance, therefore, of identifying and working Conservation

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