The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: Habitat Protection as a Restoration Strategy

Abstract

Habitat protection is a major component of the Exxon Valdez oil spill restoration process. The acquisition of private lands, or partial interests in private lands, is intended to promote natural recovery of spill‐injured resources and services by removing the threat of additional development impacts. The Comprehensive Habitat Protection Process is the method that was designed to achieve this objective. Over one million acres within the oil spill affected area were evaluated, scored, and ranked by a multi‐criteria evaluation process. Initially, lands were divided into large parcels encompassing entire bays and watersheds. Criteria were then used to assess the habitat and human‐use values associated with each parcel and the protection benefit that acquisition would provide for 19 injured resources and services. This process has been the basis for the acquisition of 41,549 acres of land on Afognak Island and 23,800 acres on the Kenai Peninsula and for agreements that, if consummated, will result in the acquisition of fee or lesser rights on over a half million acres of land in the Kodiak Archipelago, on the Kenai Peninsula, and in Prince William Sound. All of these lands or rights, if acquired, will be incorporated into parks or refuges or otherwise managed in a manner that will facilitate the recovery of the resources and services injured by the oil spill.

Ecological effects of oil spill on pelagic and bottom dwelling organisms in the riverine areas of Odidi and Egwa in Warri, Delta State

“…The Niger Delta region, famous for its rich oil deposit, has been identified as the world most severely petroleum impacted ecosystem, with spillage arising from both accidental and illegal discharges into both aquatic and terrestrial environment. An estimated 9 to 13 million barrels (1.5 million tons) of oil had been spilled in the Niger Delta ecosystem over the past 53 years representing about 50 times the estimated volume spilled in the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska in 1989 (Weiner et al, 1997). Similarly, about 7000 spillage was recorded between 1975 and 2001.…”

The Niger Delta wetland ecosystem: What threatens it and why should we protect it?

“…Nigeria's largest spill was an offshore well-blow out in January 1980 when an estimated 200,000 barrels of oil (8.4million US gallons) spilled into the Atlantic Ocean from an oil industry facility, damaging 340 ha of mangrove (Nwilo and Badejo, 2005). Annon (2006) described Nigeria's Niger Delta as one of the world's most severely impacted ecosystem by petroleum, with an estimate of 9 to 13 million barrels of oil spilled in the Niger Delta ecosystem in the past 53 years, 50 times the volume spilled in the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in Alaska in 1989 (Leschine et al, 1993;Weiner et al, 1997). Others include the Okoma pipeline spillage in 1985, the Bomu 11 blowout in 1970, the Oyakana pipeline spillage of 1980 and the Oshaka pipeline of 1993, among others.…”