2004 Chesapeake Bay Oyster Management Plan

      Category:  Institutions & Capacity; Regulatory Approaches
      Policy Type:  Frameworks & Guidance; Environmental Caps & Limits
      Sector:  Fisheries
      Region:  North America
      Country:  United States
      Description: In 2005, the Chesapeake Bay Program adopted the 2004 Chesapeake Bay Oyster Management Plan. One of the major components of this plan is managing oyster harvest. The plan requires estimating the amount of oysters that can be taken from the Bay without compromising restoration efforts or population size. In response to 2004 Chesapeake Bay Oyster Management plan, the Virginia,Marine Resources Commission established restrictions on the oyster harvest to conserve Virginia's oyster resources. This regulations specify times of closure and other restrictions on the harvest of oysters from all oyster grounds in the tidal waters in Virginia. In Maryland, Oyster Advisory Commission is responsible for providing advices on matters related to oysters in the Maryland's portion of the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays, and strategies for rebuilding and managing the oyster population in these areas.
      Outcome:  Oysters provide a valuable ecosystem service by consuming algae and other waterborne nutrients. The harvest limits on oysters in the Chesapeake Bay could lessen pressures on the oyster population in the Bay, thus improving nutrient cycling in the Bay.

      Reference:  2004 Chesapeake Bay Oyster Management Plan

      Act on the Appropriate Treatment and Promotion of Utilization of Livestock Manure (Act NO.112 of 1999)

      Category:  Regulatory Approaches
      Policy Type:  Environmental Standards; Environmental Bans & Restrictions
      Sector:  Agriculture
      Region:  Asia
      Country:  Japan
      Description: The Japan's Act on the Appropriate Treatment and Promotion of Utilization of Livestock Manure was enacted in July 1999. National and local governments finance facilities that recycle farm waste, such as manure, and specify a mandatory standard for livestock manure management that applies to livestock farms operating more than a certain number of animals (10 for cattle or horses, 100 for pigs and 2000 for poultry).
      Outcome:  This law promotes the use of livestock manure as soil fertilizers to achieve the natural return of nutrients back to the soil from which they came. About 90% of manure (80 million tonnes) is now processed into fertilizer and 8% is purified, carbonated or burned to prevent environmental damage.

      Reference:  Act on the Appropriate Treatment and Promotion of Utilization of Livestock Manure

      Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI)

      Category:  Institutions & Capacity; Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation
      Policy Type:  Partnerships; Monitoring
      Sector:  Mixed
      Region:  North America
      Country:  United States
      Description: The Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI) in the United States was established under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) with the purpose of improving water information for decision making about natural resources management and environmental protection. The Department of the Interior, through the United States Geological Survey (USGS), is designated as the lead agency. Other Federal organizations that fund, collect, or use water resources information work together with the USGS to implement ACWI recommendations.
      Outcome:  The Advisory Committee on Water Information (ACWI) provides a forum where water-related Federal agencies can work together to coordinate activities, share resources, and collaborate on the collection, storage, management, analysis and dissemination of water information.

      Reference:  Advisory Committee on Water Information (US)

      Agri-Environment Measures

      Category:  Price-Based Instruments
      Policy Type:  Subsidies, Grants & Incentive Payments
      Sector:  Agriculture
      Region:  Europe
      Country:  EU member countries
      Description: Agri-environment measures are a key element for the integration of environmental concerns into the EU Common Agricultural Policy. Agri-environment measures provide payments to farmers who voluntarily subscribe to environmental commitments related to the preservation of the environment and maintaining the countryside. Farmers commit themselves, for a minimum period of at least five years, to adopt environmentally friendly farming techniques that go beyond legal obligations. In return, farmers receive payments that provide compensation for additional costs and income foregone resulting from applying those environmentally friendly farming practices in line with the stipulations of agri-environment contracts. Agri-environment measures are co-financed by EU Member States.
      Outcome:  Agri-environment measures encourage farmers to protect and enhance the environment on their farmland.

      Reference:  Agri-environment measures

      American Farmland Trust's BMP Challenge for Nutrient Management

      Category:  Price-Based Instruments
      Policy Type:  Subsidies, Grants & Incentive Payments
      Sector:  Agriculture
      Region:  North America
      Country:  United States
      Description: The American Farmland Trust's BMP Challenge for Nutrient Management encourages risk-free adoption of conservation practices by paying farmers cash if their yield and income are reduced while participating in the BMP Challenge. Unique performance guarantees allow farmers to try conservation practices on their own land, observe performance over time in side-by-side comparisons, and evaluate economic impact, without risk to income due to yield loss.
      Outcome:  Farmers have reduced fertilizer use by 24 percent through the Nutrient BMP Challenge.

      Reference:  BMP challenge for Nutrient Management