|
About | Contact | Mongabay on Facebook | Mongabay on Twitter | Free newsletter |
|
|
Denver puts water fees toward forest conservation By Tracy Stanton and Steve Zwick, Ecosystem Marketplace March 06, 2011
Like many cities around the world, Denver gets its drinking water from rivers and reservoirs, which in turn get their water from forests. Many of those forests, however, are in trouble – thanks to funding cuts, climate change, and a horde of opportunistic beetles. That puts the city's water supply at risk as well, so Denver teamed up with the U.S. Forest Service to funnel money it collects from water fees into forest restoration. And it's not the only city to do so.
And therein lies the problem: climate change has extended summers in Colorado just enough to give the northern pine beetle the comfort it needs to multiply like never before. The bug has taken full advantage – devouring bark at a rate ten times higher than ever recorded, killing trees and leaving them scattered like kindling for wildfires. Convinced that spending money now will save money in the long run, the utility agreed back in August to partner up with the U.S. Forest Service. The $33 million deal represents an option for water utilities as they combat the impacts of climate change on the forests that are so essential to water quality. Ecosystem Markeptlace breaks down the deal and what it represents: Why Denver Spends Water Fees on Trees.
Tags: ecosystem services ecosystem finance united states water forests green environment ecosystem marketplace payments for environmental services payments for ecosystem services Environmental news index | RSS | News Feed | Twitter | Home Advertisements:
|
|
|
DON'T LIKE ADS? Become a mongabay supporter WEEKLY NEWSLETTER RECENT FEATURES
POPULAR PAGES Photos
CALENDARS 
BOOKS BY MONGABAY AUTHORS
FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER 
HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOS / PRINTS 
|
| | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Copyright mongabay 2010 Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated from mongabay.com operations (server, data transfer, travel) are mitigated through an association with Anthrotect, an organization working with Afro-indigenous and Embera communities to protect forests in Colombia's Darien region. Anthrotect is protecting the habitat of mongabay's mascot: the scale-crested pygmy tyrant. |
