Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
May 28, 2009
5. Agencies, Programs, People –
South San Joaquin Irrigation District marks century
The
Protecting the Oceans Makes Economic Sense
IndyBay.org
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South San Joaquin Irrigation District marks century
The Stockton
By Alex Breitler
And almond farmer Bob Schulz has witnessed much of that history himself.
Born in Escalon in 1937, Schulz watched as family farms - including his own - converted dairy fields to orchard crops thanks to the district's reliable supply of
Just once can Schulz remember losing a crop, and that was during the state's worst drought, in the late 1970s. Such are the benefits of belonging to one of the oldest water districts in
"This would be a desert if it wasn't for the irrigation," said Schulz, a district board member for 32 years.
South San Joaquin Irrigation District's wealth of water has benefited many outside its relatively small pocket of southeast
The district sells water to the Stockton East Water District, which treats it and delivers it to
"You've got cities both inside and outside (the district) that are really benefiting," South San Joaquin General Manager Jeff Shields said.
The district formed in 1909 to address contradictory problems: not enough water and too much of it. Without infrastructure to harness the river, farmers' crops either withered or drowned.
In a few short years, the population in the district grew from 3,000 to 15,000. Its irrigated acreage quintupled.
"In hindsight, it's just a miracle what's grown out of that decision to form the district," Shields said.
When New Melones Dam was built in 1979, the two districts were given first dibs on about 600,000 acre-feet of water. As a result, even this year - the state's third consecutive dry year -
Wednesday afternoon, more than 100 people gathered to celebrate the anniversary. They ate roast beef and watched grainy footage of dam construction.
The district's peers from Stockton East were there, too. Board member Paul Sanguinetti said it's been a privilege to be on the receiving end of
"Their water rights are important," he said. "If there's extra water in the area, we've got to utilize it in the area."#
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090528/A_NEWS14/905280326/-1/rss14
Protecting the Oceans Makes Economic Sense
IndyBay.org – 5/27/09
by IUCN
Protecting the oceans through marine protected areas can provide higher and more sustained income through tourism and controlled fisheries than continued exploitation.
Protecting the oceans through marine protected areas can provide higher and more sustained income through tourism and controlled fisheries than continued exploitation. This is the result of IUCN’s new compilation of case studies about the economic benefits of marine protected areas, launched on World Biodiversity Day at the 2nd International Marine Protected Area Congress in
Along the western coast of
In the Navakavu Locally Managed Marine Area near Viti Levu Island in Fiji, finfish catch increased by 3 per cent in the four years after putting the area under protection, resulting in a revenue increase of US$28,700 for local communities. Navakavu case study
A third case study shows that fishermen near the Kulape-Batu-Batu Marine Protected Area, in the Philippine Tawi-Tawi province, were able to increase their income by about 20 percent only one year after the establishment of the Kulape-Batu-Batu marine sanctuary. Kulape-Batu-Batu case study
“These case studies show that closing selected marine areas to fishing or other extractive uses makes economic sense,” says Carl Gustaf Lundin, Head of IUCN’s Global Marine Programme. “Marine protected areas, if well managed, help fish stocks replenish, which then increase yields in neighbouring areas and improve the economic situation of the local communities.”
Marine protected areas also attract tourism, which is the other important source of income through marine conservation.
Since all fishing has been banned in the British Lundy Island No Take Zone, a small four square km marine protected area set up in the
“On World Biodiversity Day, IUCN gives the proof that protecting the oceans is not only good for biodiversity, but it also makes money,” says Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN Director General. “These examples from around the world prove that there are no excuses anymore for exploiting the oceans until nothing is left – it will ultimately destroy the fishing industry altogether, let alone the diversity of life on our planet.”
Less than one percent of the world’s oceans are currently protected, compared to about 12 percent of the land surface. Governments agreed under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity to increase protection of the oceans to 10 percent by 2010.#
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/05/27/18598640.php
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