|
Over the past 200 years, the United States has lost more than 50% of its wetlands.〔Stein, B. A., L. S. Kutner, and J. S. Adams (eds.). 2000. Precious Heritage: The Status of Biodiversity in the United States. Oxford University Press, New York.〕 And even with the current focus on wetland conservation, the US is losing about of wetlands per year (as of 2004).〔Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States 1998 to 2004. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (December 2005), pp. 1-116.〕 However, from 1998 to 2004 the United States managed a net gain of of wetlands (mostly freshwater).〔 The past several decades have seen an increasing number of laws and regulations regarding wetlands, their surroundings, and their inhabitants, creating protections through several different outlets. Some of the most important have been and are the Migratory Bird Act, Swampbuster, and the Clean Water Act. ==Legislation== Some of the laws and regulations with notable impact on wetland conservation are: *Migratory Bird Conservation Act, ch. 257, , (1929) ::Established a commission to approve the acquisition of migratory bird habitat. *Rivers and Harbors Act, , (1938) ::Provides that "due regard" be given to wildlife conservation in planning Federal water projects. *Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act, , (1954) *Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (1956) ::Authorizes the development and distribution of fish and wildlife information and the development of policies and procedures relating to fish and wildlife. *Federal Water Project Recreation Act, ,(1965) ::Recreation and fish and wildlife enhancement must be considered by Federal water projects. Authorizes Federal funds for acquiring land for waterfowl refuges. *National Wildlife Refuge Acts (1966, improvement amended 1997) ::Numerous statutes establish refuges, many of which contain significant wetland acreage. *National Environmental Policy Act, , (1969) ::Requires the preparation of an environmental impact statement of all major Federal actions significantly affecting the environment *Federal Water Pollution Control, ,(''Clean Water Act''), Section 404 (1972) ::Regulates many activities that involve the disposal of dredged and fill materials in waters of the United States, including many wetlands. *Ramsar Convention (Treaty), (adopted 1973, enforced from 1975) ::Convention maintains a list of wetlands of international importance and encourages the wise use of wetlands. *Executive Order 11988 & 11990, Protection of Floodplains/Wetlands, (1977) ::Requires Federal agencies to minimize impacts of Federal activities on floodplains/wetlands. *Food Security Act (''Swampbuster''), , (1985) ::"Swampbuster" program suspends agricultural subsidies for farmers who convert wetlands to agriculture. *U.S. Tax Code Reform Act, , (1986) ::Eliminates incentives for clearing land. Deductible conservation expenditures must be consistent with wetlands protection. Capital gains on converted wetlands treated as income. *North American Wetlands Conservation Act, (1989) ::Provides matching grants to organizations and individuals who have developed partnerships to carry out wetlands conservation projects in the United States, Canada, and Mexico for the benefit of waterfowl and other wetland-dependent migratory birds. *Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act, , (1990) ::Wetland Reserve Program purchases perpetual non-development easements on farmed wetlands. Subsidizes restoration of croplands to wetlands. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wetland conservation in the United States」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|