A Multi-Scalar Examination of Law for Sustainable Ecosystems
Abstract
:1. Introduction
Resilience
Species | Functional Diversity | Functional Redundancy | Sleeping Function |
---|---|---|---|
A | F1, F3, F4 | F1, F4 | F2 |
B | F1, F4 | F1, F4 | |
C | F2 |
Community | State 1 | State 2 | State 3 | State 4 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Species composition | ABC | AC | BC | A |
Functions | F1, F2, F3, F4 | F1, F2, F3, F4 | F1, F2, F4 | F1, F2, F3, F4 |
Summary | ||||
Species | All species present | Species B lost | Species A lost | Species B and C lost |
Functions performed | All functions performed | All functions performed | F3 not performed | All functions performed, because species A performs F2 when species C disappears (i.e., sleeping function) |
Functional redundancy | Redundant functional groups present | No functional redundancy | No functional redundancy | No functional redundancy |
Resilience | Resilient | Less resilient | Likely to undergo a regime shift or system crash | Least resilient |
2. Coral Reef Ecosystems
3. Existing Legal Mechanisms
3.1. Global and International Tools
3.2. Federal Tools
3.2.1. National Ocean Council
3.2.2. Coral Reef Conservation Act and Coastal Zone Management Act
3.2.3. Federal Public Trust in Territorial Waters
3.2.4. National Marine Sanctuaries
3.2.5. Clean Water Act
3.3. State Tools
3.3.1. Clean Water Act Implementation
3.3.2. State laws: Florida’s Coral Reef Protection Act
3.4. Local Government Tools
Common Law Tort Litigation
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
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Green, O.O.; Garmestani, A.S.; Hopton, M.E.; Heberling, M.T. A Multi-Scalar Examination of Law for Sustainable Ecosystems. Sustainability 2014, 6, 3534-3551. https://doi.org/10.3390/su6063534
Green OO, Garmestani AS, Hopton ME, Heberling MT. A Multi-Scalar Examination of Law for Sustainable Ecosystems. Sustainability. 2014; 6(6):3534-3551. https://doi.org/10.3390/su6063534
Chicago/Turabian StyleGreen, Olivia Odom, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Matthew E. Hopton, and Matthew T. Heberling. 2014. "A Multi-Scalar Examination of Law for Sustainable Ecosystems" Sustainability 6, no. 6: 3534-3551. https://doi.org/10.3390/su6063534