Research Paper on Endangered Species Act

Introduction

There is a continued call around the world to protect the environment. Organizations such as the United Nation Environment Programme advocates for sustainable development. The United States has also been in the front for decades in achieving this objective. With continued population increase, there is growing pressure on land; as a result, there is an increase in deforestation, pollution, extinction of species and other related issues. There are many legislations put in place to protect the environment.

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This paper will focus on the Endangered Species Act. It looks at the need for the Act, functions and key elements of the Act, economic costs and benefits as a result of implementing the act, and challenges faced by the Act. The paper ends by giving recommendations to ensure continued success.

The Need for Endangered Species Act

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is a federal law that was enacted on December 28, 1973, to protect species that were believed to be the verge of extinction. The framers of the law envisioned the need to conserve the nation's natural and human-made heritage which benefits both present and coming generations (Matsumoto, 2003). The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) administers the legislation under the Interior Department. However, ESA has no jurisdiction over the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries - National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to marine species. ESA has seen much progress since its formation. For instance, when it was formed, there were only 109 endangered species listed, but as of the 2013 May, over 1450 were listed either as endangered or threatened species. Besides, in the next five years, the United States Fish and Wildlife (FWS) intends to increase these numbers by over 20% (Matsumoto, 2003).

An endangered species as defined under the ESA is a species throughout all or significant portion found to be the edge of extinction within a foreseeable future whereas a threatened species is one in probable danger in the near future.

Key Elements of the ESA

The ESA aims at protecting the critical habitat of imperiled species. The Act offers common sense solutions concerned federal agencies, landowners and citizens to preserve and re-establish the imperiled species and their habitat. There three essential elements involved to achieve this objective. These elements are discussed in the following paragraphs.

Listing the Threatened and Endangered Species

This is the first and most critical step. Before a species receives federal protection, it has to be added to the official list of threatened or endangered species. The species is listed based on the threat posed to its survival such as loss of habitat, overharvesting, pollution, and invasion by other species. After the FWS and NOAA/ NMFS determine the credibility of listing (usually takes one year), they place a notice to the Federal Register and becomes effective after thirty days.

Designing Habitats for Their Recovery and Survival

After identifying the endangered species, the federal government is tasked with developing a critical habitat based on scientific data available on the species. Some of the feature considered included cover and shelter, nutritional and physiological requirements (food, light, air, water, etc.), sites for breeding and rearing offspring among others. The designation analysis includes both positive and negative impacts. If the exclusion benefits exceed designation benefits, FWS and NOAA Fisheries may exclude the area unless the decision would lead to an extinction of the species.

Recovery Planning

The objective of the recovery program is to reverse the decline of the threatened and endangered species to a self-sustaining population. The plan entails a description of the current species situation, recovery objective (for instance target population) and a list of criteria for determining if the objective has been met, and finally, implementation schedule showing tasks priorities and estimation of costs.

Economic Costs

There are industries and sectors which are directly affected by the implementation of the Act. The economic cost of implementing can be determined by considering the opportunity cost to the due to the use of listed species, the cost of designing the critical habitat, and the cost for recovery plans (Melious & Thornton, 1999). These costs include but not limited to reduced income from altered development projects in agriculture, mineral extraction, timber harvesting; lost wages for displaced workers, lower county property, and reduced tax revenues. Although there is are disadvantages, research has shown there is a significant negative impact of implementing the Act (Matsumoto, 2003). Besides, sacrificing wildlife for short-term economic benefits is not an economic bargain. Extinction is forever, but economic cycles come and go.

Economic Benefits of the ESA

The primary goal of the ESA is conversing biodiversity. Through ESA, many economic benefits have been realized as a result of conserving biodiversity. Some of the benefits are discussed in the following paragraphs.

Discovery of Cure to Fatal Diseases

Public health has been a beneficiary of an enriched science and Medicine through biodiversity. For instance, rosy periwinkle which was on the verge of extinction due to deforestation cures Hodgkin's disease and other specific forms of leukemia. Pacific yew which was previously considered as trash tree and burned aids in treating breast and ovarian cancer (Defenders of Wildlife, n.d.). A cure for AIDS or cancer may be lying in a plant or yet to be discovered.

Revenue from Tourism Sector

Protected species have massive income at both local and national levels. For instance, researchers carried out by the University of Montana in 2006 indicated that National Park received $35 million from wolves' tourist revenue. Today, in Florida has witnessed benefits resulting from the maintenance of nutrient cycles, erosion control, waste management among others. These benefits account for a total of over $3 billion per year in Duval, Putnam, St. Johns and Clay counties cancer (Defenders of Wildlife, n.d.).

The Act Prevents Erosion and Protects Vital Natural Resources

Many endangered and threatened species prevent erosions, provide air and water. For instance, the National Wildlife Refuge System, an orphanage for a variety of threatened and endangered plants and animals yields about $46 billion annually. At the national level, Soil maintenance produced $33 billion, flood maintenance per acre up to $72,000, insect pollination, and commercial value of both natural and managed forest products such as fuelwood, timber, fruits, nuts, honey, etc. $3 to $8 billion.

Challenges in Implementing the Act

Full implementation of the Act has faced many challenges since its formulation. Some of the challenges include: Political opposition has led to delays in the listing process, habitat protection, habitat recovery and lack of sufficient funding from both the federal government and states (). Most recently, the Republicans have shown their interest in weakening the Act (Matsumoto, 2003). Without constructive collaboration between different sectors, the Act cannot be effective.

Conclusion

It is a bad bargain to put the short term interests of economic cycles before long term objectives of the ESA. Extinction is forever, but economic cycles come and go. Nearly 50 years after its implementation, the ESA has saved thousands of plants and animals. Without ESA, where would be wolves, rosy periwinkle, Pacific yew, etc. The Act supports sustainable local and national economies which in its absentia the fate of the future generation would be in jeopardy.

References

Defenders of Wildlife (n.d.). Economic benefits of the ESA. Washington, D.C.: USA. Available from: https://www.defenders.org/sites/default/files/publications/economic-benefits-of-the-endangered-species-act.pdf

Melious, J., O, and Thornton, R., D. (1999). Contractual ecosystem management under the endangered species act: Can federal agencies make enforceable commitments. Ecology Law Quarterly, 26(3). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.15779/Z38JV9R

Matsumoto, S. (2003). Citizens' guide to the Endangered Species Act. The Endangered Species Coalition. Earth Justice. Available from: http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/library/reports/Citizens_Guide_ESA.pdf