The National Academies Testimony before Congress

Public Laws Containing Studies for the National Academies

Briefings to Congress

Congressionally Mandated Reports

Policy Statements and Historical Documents

The OCGA staff

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
National Research Council
Division on Earth and Life Studies
Ocean Studies Board
Committee on the Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Mississippi Canyon-252 Oil Spill
on Ecosystem Services in the Gulf of Mexico

*****

Congressional Briefings
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
304 Russell Senate Office Bldg. – 10:45 a.m.
431 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg. – 11:30 a.m.
509 Hart Senate Office Bldg. -- 2:00 p.m.
and
2456 Rayburn House Office Bldg. -- 3:00 p.m.

and

Thursday, November 10, 2011
253 Russell Senate Office Bldg. – 10:30 a.m.

*****

on

Approaches for Ecosystem Services Valuation for the Gulf of Mexico
After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill:
Interim Report

by

STEPHEN POLASKY, Economist, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota; member, Committee on the Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Mississippi Canyon-252 Oil Spill on Ecosystem Services in the Gulf of Mexico; and member, The National Academy of Sciences

RALPH G. STAHL, JR., expert on the National Resource Damages Assessment—NRDA-process, DuPont Company, Wilmington, Delaware; and member, Committee on the Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Mississippi Canyon-252 Oil Spill on Ecosystem Services in the Gulf of Mexico

Requested by Congress in P.L. 111-212, this interim report lays out the methodology for identifying and quantifying ecosystem services to evaluate the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). It examines the approaches for evaluating GoM baseline conditions to determine which effects are specific to the spill and it outlines valuation methods for measuring ecosystem services and developing restoration plans for the Gulf. The final report is due to be released in 2013.

These series of briefings were for members of Congress and congressional staff only. The report was publicly released on November 10, 2011 and can be found, in its entirety, on the Web site of the National Academies Press.