Central Valley California

Central Valley California

1. Originally very rich in biodiversity

   • region  has some of most fertile soils in the world...and a favorable climate..
   • 95% of the valley now altered for agriculture.
     • Increasing population pressure
       • Between 1972 and 1992- pop increased from  2.7 mill to 4 mill. 2015- 6.5mill fastest growing region in california
       • Produces food for much of USA- considerable pressure on resources
         • Rachel Carson warned us in 1962 Silent Spring
         • Global Economy- Linked to problems in California
     • Pesticides: 1/2 mill pounds used in California
       • Pesticides get into water
         • Impact on biodiversity
           • Fish, amphibians, birds, benthic bioata.
           • Klamath Lakes: excessive pesticides from irrigation runoff
             • 1960s, hundreds of dead/dying birds- fish eating species eg herons, gulls,   pelicans, all had high levels of pesiticides inside
             • Fish and Plankton had high levels, Lakes- critical for migratory birds in winter, and nesting waterfowl in summer.
           • 67mill bird deaths per anum..minimunm
             • other efffects: feminization of salmon- 94% phenotypically female, despite male genotype. red spotted newts exposed to endosulfan- due to lower reproductive capabilities- disrupted pheromone. Decline in beneficials,- beetles, worms,  wasps, spiders, bats, birds.
           • Pollination: Bees sensitive to pesiticides
         • And air..
           • Settle on trees where birds perch, Settle on animals walking through vegetation when it has been sprayed.
       • Resistance increasing: solution use more.
     • impacts on humans
       • inhaling and ingesting pesticides
         • links to cancer, asthema, resperitory illnesses, neurological disorders, birth defects, miscarriages, sterility
       • access to water for living
     • land clearance: barren landscape- use of fertalisers to compensate.
   • over 90% of original natural wetlands have been lost to irrigation development.
     • Total productivity for some wildlife may have imporved, however, impact of habitat loss on biodiversity overall, was negataive.

2. Droughts

   • deepest drought in more than a century
   • Farmers in California using Groundwater as water source, using at 4-5 times the rate that can be replenished.
     • San Luis reservoir- one of most important in area- is only 40% full..
   • 80% of state is in 'extreme' or 'exceptional' drought.
   • Impacts
     • Habitat loss
     • Pesticide Levels
     • Flooding
     • Wildfires
     • Ground Sinking
   • Little water-- pesticides aren't diluted as much.
   • Rivers drying up- loss of habitat for species in rivers

3. Solution?

   • many of these problms could be resolved through change of crop production, land use, drainage treatment and irrigation technology- however changes must come at minimal social cost
   • Differing values
     • Proximity to problem
     • Livelihoods
       • Farmers signed agreements with state in early 1930s/1940s that promised them an annual quota of water, recent times due to environmental llaws and fish conservation etc, water allocations for farms got cut in 2014, drastically effecting thier livelihoods.
       • rely on growing crops.
       • using famers knowledge, and usiing econoic incentives to minimise impact on industry
         • technologies available fpr reducing impact on biodiversity, need economic incentives to use expenisve technologies
     • Socital, Cultural, Political factors.
       • Natural selection replaced by 'systematic selection' based on technnological and economic pressures.
       • reduction in biodiversity within agro-ecosysttem can be attributed to govt policies.
         • government subsidies allowed development of large scale water projects-  without which, unlikely that some of the irrigated areas in central valley would have developed, that have now generated environmental problems.
   • Finding a balance between human activities, and biodiversity/natural landscape
     • ecosystem servcies
       • decomposition water purification nutrient cycling resources pollination pest regulation climate regulation spiritual recreational cultural heritage
       • Planting native vegetation, even just a strip sig increases visitation from pollinating insects-- natural, increases biodiversity, saves farmers money from hiring bees.
         • 250 mill a year spent on bee hire for almound pollination
       • reserach into predator/prey associatons- reductions in pesticides
         • less spending on pesticides
       • key stone species
         • -keystone species is a species which plays a unique or crucial role in the way an ecosystem develops. Without it, the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist alltogether.
         • bottom of food chain important focus- scientific focus on conservation rather than social... soil food web imortant- feeds everything else
     • Connectivity through stepping stones and corridors
     • Measures to conserve biodiversity , can also increase agro production
       • eg.. in long run detrimental agricultural by-products can reduce biodiversity + productivity... one solution is to flood fields after harvest.. althgugh can be costly, maintains productivity and increases biodiversity.
   • Current Intervention Stratergies
     • Social Justice Movements
       • Central California Environmental Justice Network - https://ccejn.wordpress.com/ California Environmental Justice Alliance - http://caleja.org/ Centre on Race, Poverty and the Environment -      http://www.crpe-ej.org/crpe/ Californians for a Healthy and Green Economy - http://www.changecalifornia.org/ Central Valley Air Quality Coalition - http://www.calcleanair.org/
       • many groups with a focus on equality and health of humans, biodiversity and the environment is not part of these movements
       • better to have many small groups doing similiar things, or for them to collabarate?
     • Biodiversity Focus
       • Center for Biological Diversity (national) - http://www.biologicaldiversity.org The Wildlands Conservancy -http://www.wildlandsconservancy.org/index.html Restorethe Delta (maybe) - http://restorethedelta.org/ Save Mount Diablo -http://www.savemountdiablo.org/ Central Valley Habitat Exchange  - http://www.habitatexchanges.org/exchanges/central-valley/ USDA Nature Resources Conservation Service – Tricoloured Blackbirds in silage crops  water bird species in rice paddies
       • Work best when finding solutions that still allow farmers to farm. Middle Ground.
         • reserach shows that in many parts, lnad that has already been degraded is the best for growing certain crops- eg pam oil production..
     • in central valley, rice farmers flood lands yearly.
       • rice farms also provide habitat for threatened giant garter snake
   • Science
     • overuse of pesticides killing biodiversity and humans
     • overuse of water killing off biodiversity, habitat loss, drought
     • monocutures, killing biodiversity
     • effluent (shit) is contaminating ground /surface water-- making humans and biodiversity sick
     • climate is changing - will alter current use of land
     • hustons theory: most fertile lands have llower levels of biodiversity
   • society
     • rising pop requires infrasturucture and employment
     • land use affecting human health
     • disconnect between, rural and urban life
     • community groupss focus on social issues--poverty/health/emplyoment.
     • limited interest in saving biodiversity
   • Possible for California to both increase economic outputs and use less resources
     • Technological improvements
       • will enhance productivity of resources
     • Market Shifts
       • Dependent on continued growth in Market for California fruit, nuts and veges -prospects good bc income in pacific region is inceasing.
       • will allow california to sell more high value crops such as fruits and vegetables
         • high value crops also use less water per acre.
         • will enable farmers increase profits on the same or a smaller resource base
   • whose responsibilitiy?
     • Difficult to work with 6.9 bill consumers or 1.5 bill producers
     • 300-500 companies control 70% of the trade in the 15 priority commodities (includes agro)
       • change the way companies do business..rest will happen automatically 100 companies control 25% of the trade of all 15 of the most sig commodities on the planet-- 25% is imp because if these companies demand sustainable products- production can be levarged so much faster. of 100 companies identified, Jason Clay has begun working with 40 of those companies on thier supply chain, with another 40 companies signed up to work with in the next 18 months
       • Cargill: company looking into using sustainable palm oil producers- supply 20-25% of worlds palm oil.. if cargill demands it, at least 50% of palm oil producers will change..
       • pressure on businesses to create sustainable products
         • Mars looking into sustainable chocolate production: stems from fact they want to be in business in the future. -Through scientrfic research-- found they can produce 320x as much cocoa on 40% of the land, made this info available to everyone. True costs! Coca Cola paying for cost to offset carbon when shipping products to europe.
     • consumers?
       • after 40 years global organic movement has acheived .7 of 1%....
     • governemnt?
       • Looking at scientific reserach, looking at what best companies and producers in the world are doing, raising compulsery standards to that point
     • to pay for wildlife?
       • hunters who pay for licenses to hunt game...farmers who grow cotton, or general public?
   • Sacramento/ San Juanquuin delata.
     • provides drinking water to 2/3s cali residents irrigates moer than 400 mill acres of farm land provides habitat for hundreds of species of fish and wildlife
     • evidence that massive immersions of water is ruining the quality of the water--delata smelt..,
       • Delta Smelt recently made in onto the enagered species list.
       • August 2007- judge ruled that 1/3rd less water should be retreived from water to protect the smelt.
       • SCIENC VS SOCIAL-
         • Science: delta smelt- important part of ecosystem- without it fragile econsystem would be threatened. Social: Fish vs people...'little fish' unimportant.- up to 80k jobs lost- livelihoods threatened.
         • reductions in biodiversity will lead to both social and economic losses in california.
           • intensifying development and producing more efficiantly is important
             • Californias agricultural industry will grow economically, while using fewer resources and reducing biodiversity loss.
         • rising social importance of agriculture
   • examples of agricultural activity increasing biodiversity has been seen also
     • eg foothills around the central valley, absense of grazing can lead to a decline in oak caonopy-- and a subsequent loss in biodiveristy..> Overgrazinng can lead to a loss in biodiversity but so can undergrazing..
   • other states such as illonois have a systemetic or instutional biological survery- california needs one-
     • need organised information about abundance of wildlife. especially gap in knowledge about amphibians and reptiles , despite knowledge that these are disapearing. Monitering status of wildlife is only way that society will know what is left and what is about to disapear forever.
   • small scale restoration possibe
     • effotrts to reduce bare dirt on non-culitvated land with native grassses shrus and trees
       • Research into which wildlife species benefit from such practices, the economic costs to landowners, and landscape-level issues such as connecting areas of extant habitat should be conducted.

4. large scale water development, said to have had most sig impact on caliis wildlife.

   • most of which used for agriculture
   • causes direct habitat loss through
     • creating reservioirs and altering flow regimes
     • allowing wildlands to be converted into parture in areas which see little rain

5. today greatest thrests to wildlife- urban sprw; amd cpmtomied grpwtj

   • -land has already een converted to agriculture- mmajority of water already being used in cultivation