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Assessment of Goods and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (AGAVES), San Pedro River Basin, U.S./Mexico
Citation:
Goodrich, D. C., D. J. Semmens, N. G. TALLENT-HALSELL, AND W. G. KEPNER. Assessment of Goods and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (AGAVES), San Pedro River Basin, U.S./Mexico. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/F-10/015, 2010.
Impact/Purpose:
A prolonged drought in the San Pedro could force policy makers to have to choose how to allocate precious ground and surface waters among urban, agricultural, ranching, cultural, and ecological interests. AGAVES will develop a computer based decision support tool that enables the consideration of alternative versions of the future based on different approaches for allocating waters, managing ecosystems under a changed climate and growing human demands.
Description:
A consortium of federal, academic, and non-government organizations (NGO) partners have established a collaborative research enterprise in the San Pedro River Basin to develop methods, standards, and tools to assess and value ecosystem goods and services. The central premise of ecosystem services research is that human condition is intrinsically linked to the environment and that human health and well-being (including economic prosperity) depends on important supporting, regulating, provisioning, and cultural services that we derive from our surrounding ecosystems. The AGAVES project is intended as a demonstration study for incorporating ecosystem services information into resource management policy and decision making. Accordingly, a nested, multi-scale project design has been adopted to address a range of stakeholder information requirements. This design will further facilitate an evaluation of the degree to which methods can be transferred to other areas.
URLs/Downloads:
Assessment of Goods and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (AGAVES), San Pedro River Basin, U.S./MexicoKEPNER 10-044 FINAL FACT SHEET NERL-LV-ESD-10-044-AGAVES_ECOSYSTEM SERVICES.KEPNER.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 164 KB, about PDF)