Ecosystem Services, Wetlands and Houston’s Growth

Jim Lester Definitions (MEA 2005)

• Ecosystem: a dynamic complex of plant, animal, and microorganism communities and the nonliving environment interacting in a functional unit • Ecosystem services: benefits people receive from ecosystems including various functions, products, stocks and flows of goods and services

MEA CLASSIFICATION of ES

• Provisioning – provides direct • Regulation – provides direct benefits material and consumable benefits to support and maintain control of ecosystems – Food and fiber – Climate regulation – Timber and minerals – Waste treatment – Fuels – Water regulation – Medicinal resources – Nutrient regulation • Cultural Services – provides direct social and spiritual benefits • Supporting - provides direct benefits to support and maintain control of – Recreation ecosystems – Spiritual and historic – Primary production – Science and education – Nutrient cycling – Water cycling

Classification of Final Ecosystem Goods and Services (EPA)- Wetlands and Estuaries

• Ecosystem Attributes • Human beneficiaries – Water quality – Agriculture – Water amount – Industry – Plants and animals – Transportation – Sensory experience – Government agencies – Residential – Recreational interests – Cultural groups – Subsistence users Value of Ecosystem Changes ?

• Temporal and spatial scale for valuation – Local, regional or global – Episodic, short term, long term • Values from market, risk avoidance or hedonic behavior • Wetland to farmland or golf course, ES Δ? Wetland Services vs. Land Value

• Major positive benefits of urban wetlands (no provisioning) – Stormwater retention (regulatory; risk avoidance) – Nutrient and pollutant assimilation (regulatory; cost avoidance) – Habitat (regulatory, cultural; cost avoidance) – Heat island amelioration (regulatory; risk and cost avoidance) • Major issues with urban wetland protection – Loss of land value if undeveloped – Increased cost of development and infrastructure if wetlands protected – Lack of regulatory and nonregulatory frameworks for protection at various levels of government

LU/LC Map of Houston 2010 Floodplains and Wetland Loss Houston Region and Wetlands

• Harris County is currently 16.7% floodplain – Reduced by development – Neighboring counties are 21% – 46% floodplain • From 1996 – 2010 Lower Galveston Bay Watershed lost 13,911 acres of wetlands to development (0.15% per year) • Texas Coast palustrine wetlands (prairie complexes) – Typical size 0.5 ac – 25 ac – Typical depth 3 in – 16 in • Typical palustrine wetland stores 76% - 93% of annual input

Prairie Pothole Wetland Complexes How Palustrine Wetlands Work

Functional Analysis of Local Palustrine Wetland in 2008 - 2009

Methods of Quantifying ES

• Physical model of storm water retention – Cost avoidance for construction of storage – Value of avoided property damage • Ecological production functions – Value of vegetation growth in nutrient, carbon and pollutant sequestration Linking ecosystem characteristics to final ecosystem services for public policy

Ecology Letters Volume 18, Issue 1, pages 108-118, 14 NOV 2014 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12389 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.12389/full#ele12389-fig-0003 Valuing Flood Reduction

• High Monthly Rainfall Amounts – July 2005 = 12.96 inches – October 2006 = 19.26 inches – April 2009 = 15.61 inches • April 18, 2009 flood – 5 deaths – 350 homes flooded – $3.5 million in damages Wetland Permits and Flooding (Brody/TAMUG)

• 11,149 Section 404 permits in Texas coastal counties 1991 – 2003 • 42% affecting palustrine wetlands – Limited protection (2001 and 2006 Supreme Court rulings) • Permits in 100 year floodplain in USACE Galveston District – 1991 – 2003: 32% - 41% annually • Each permit on average increases flood damage by $212 per flood (urban permits are costliest)

Wetland Permits in Texas Coastal Counties Insured Flood Losses (NWF: Higher Ground 1998) • FEMA Database ‘78 – ‘95 (Claudette 79 and Alicia 83) • Harris County had 3,681 properties with repetitive flood loss • 2.9 losses per property over 18 years • $211.5 million paid out (no uninsured losses included) • How much less if wetlands protected?

Cost Equivalence Scenario

• 1 Acre of wetland sold for $300,000 • Converted to 6 houses @ 2,000 sq ft • Flood event with water in homes to 1 foot • Average damage $52,000/house (FEMA) • Property loss = $312,000 • But the model for Houston does not exist Wetland Protection Conundrum

• Urban wetlands retain storm water and provide other ecosystem services • Urban land has high value for development – Undeveloped floodplain land in Harris County is $40K to $1M per acre • High land value connected to high wetland conversion activity • Profit from wetland conversion results in costs from flood damage • Profits are immediate, losses are long term, episodic

Demand for Land – Wetland Loss

Developed Lands Wetlands lost Avg Home Price Real Estate WATERSHED NAME in 2010 as % of to development (HAR) Market Total Land Area since 1996

Trinity River 3% 0% 154300 Liberty Cedar Bayou 12% 4% 167600 Baytown Dickinson Bayou 34% 13% 198000 Dickinson Armand-Taylor Bayou 64% 13% 228600 77058 Sims Bayou 78% 21% 98800 - 168000 77017, 77061 Buffalo Bayou 90% 22% 177000 - 2000000 77084, 77024 Brays Bayou 94% 52% 190000 - 1000000 77074, 77005 Lower Galveston Bay Watershed Avg 43% 13% Economic Value of Palustrine Wetlands

• Economic cost of wetland conversion is cumulative and long term

• Market value and ES value are greatest in intensively developed area

• Flood avoidance can be improved by protection of ecosystem services

– Land development codes and protected areas have highest negative correlation to flood damage

• Land use decisions currently favor economics of wetland destruction and structural flood mitigation

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