Bay Area Ecosystems Climate Change Consortium (BAECCC)

The ecosystems of the Bay Area contribute to human well being by providing services that support our economy and quality of life. These services include well-recognized marketable goods, such as fish, fiber, and salt, and nonmarketable goods such as aesthetic beauty, inspiration, and recreational opportunities. It is less well-appreciated that ecosystems also provide services that support or regulate conditions enabling civilization to thrive, such as water purification, flood control, waste assimilation, crop pollination, and climate regulation.

The value of these services is very large; a conservative global estimate of the annual value of ecosystem services is almost twice the total global GNP. The one recent estimate of the value of marketable goods from Bay Area ecosystems is $250-300 million, and a regional estimate of the value of regulating and supporting services has yet to be made.

Our economic system assumes that these services will continue to be available at virtually no cost. However, it is increasingly clear that human activities, including the growing impacts of climate change, are degrading the capacity of ecosystems to provide these services. The changes in temperature, precipitation, sea level, and the ecological shifts that will result from these climatic changes, will disrupt the flow of these services to citizens of the Bay Area.

The Bay Area Ecosystems Climate Change Consortium (BAECCC) was established in 2009 to assess the impact of climate change on Bay Area ecosystems, and identify management actions that will preserve the benefits we derive from these ecosystems in the face of ongoing climate change. BAECCC works to achieve these outcomes by fostering collaboration among natural resource managers, scientists, and others interested in climate change and the future of the San Francisco Bay Area.

BAECCC's program contains three elements: communication & coordination, strategic science, and management applications.

BAECCC is governed by a Steering Committee composed of the following individuals:

Maria Brown, Superintendent
Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary

Ellie Cohen, President and CEO
PRBO Conservation Science

Matt Gerhart, Deputy Program Manager
San Francisco Bay Area Program
California State Coastal Conservancy

Mendel Stewart, Project Leader
San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Thomas Suchanek, Ph. D., Lead Scientist and Climate Change Coordinator
United States Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center

Dr. Andrew Gunther manages the activities of BAECCC as its Executive Coordinator pursuant to a contract with the California State Coastal Conservancy. More information about Dr. Gunther is available in the announcement of his hiring. Those interested in participating in BAECCC should contact Dr. Gunther.

The BAECCC Steering Committee gratefully acknowledges the support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Ecosystem Service Value ($M) (year for estimate)
Commercial Fishing $12.2 (2006)
Sport Fishing $65-98.3 (2007)
Hunting $5.5-$6.7 (2006)
Recreation (11,000 Marina slips) $43.9
Cruise ship passengers $48.8 (2006)
Sand mining $20-$36
Salt harvest $39.7
Oyster shell mining $5.4-7.2
Total $240.5 - $292.8

Estimated value of marketable goods from Bay ecosystems. From Battelle Memorial Institute (2008), except recreation. Battelle’s estimate of 11,000 slips quantified using average boat length of 35 feet, $9.50/foot-month per Berkeley Marina berthing fees. The value for regulating and supporting ecosystem services has not been made, but is likely larger.

Battelle Memorial Institute. 2008. San Francisco Bay Subtidal Habitat Goals Report. Appendix 1-2: Economic Valuation of San Francisco Bay Natural Resources Services.