Report on the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center’s Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals

The Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center (WWCC) in Huntington Beach provides critical services that directly support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those concerning biodiversity and sustainable communities. The center’s recent efforts in treating a mass poisoning event and its ongoing operational challenges highlight the importance of robust partnerships for achieving these global goals at a local level.

Operational Impact on Regional Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health

Conservation Efforts and Support for SDG 15: Life on Land

The WWCC’s work is fundamental to the preservation of local terrestrial ecosystems, a core objective of SDG 15. By providing essential medical care and rehabilitation, the center actively contributes to halting biodiversity loss in Orange County and Long Beach. In the last reporting year, the center’s impact included:

• Admittance of 8,176 wildlife patients.
• Treatment for a wide range of species, including hummingbirds, baby raccoons, raptors, and other wounded animals found in local parklands and residential areas.
• Provision of services that ensure the health and viability of local wildlife populations, which are integral to sustainable terrestrial environments.

Response to Marine Crisis and Advancement of SDG 14: Life Below Water

A significant recent event underscored the center’s role in protecting marine life, directly aligning with SDG 14. The center mounted a large-scale rescue operation in response to a domoic acid poisoning event affecting coastal bird populations.

1. Nearly 200 emaciated brown pelicans were rescued and treated by the volunteer-run nonprofit.
2. The intervention involved intensive nursing and rehabilitation to counteract the effects of the neurotoxin, which resulted from a harmful algal bloom.
3. Successful recovery and release of the birds back into their marine habitat demonstrated a direct and effective action to conserve and protect marine biodiversity from pollution-related threats.

Analysis of Funding Structures and Challenges to SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

The financial sustainability of the WWCC is contingent upon effective partnerships, the cornerstone of SDG 17. However, a significant disparity exists in the funding model, which threatens the center’s long-term viability and its ability to support other SDGs.

Existing Municipal Partnerships

Several municipalities have established effective partnerships with the WWCC, providing a per-animal fee that reflects the cost of care. Cities such as Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, and Laguna Beach pay $125 per animal, covering lodging, food, and medical treatment. This model represents a sustainable partnership that acknowledges the value of wildlife services.

Funding Disparity with Orange County Animal Care (OCAC)

A critical challenge to the center’s sustainability stems from its relationship with Orange County Animal Care, which serves numerous unincorporated communities and municipalities, including Huntington Beach.

• Animals from OCAC’s jurisdiction constitute over 45% of the center’s total patient intake, numbering 3,708 in the last year.
• Despite this significant caseload, a five-year contract providing a flat rate of $9,000 annually expired in August of last year, and subsequent negotiations for a more equitable rate have failed.
• If OCAC were to pay the standard $125 per-animal rate, it would provide approximately $463,500 in revenue, substantially contributing to the center’s $900,000 annual expenses.
• OCAC has stated its $29-million budget is focused on domestic animals and it is not able to divert taxpayer funds to support charitable work outside its mandated obligations. This gap in partnership directly undermines the shared responsibility inherent in SDG 17.

Implications for SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

The funding impasse has direct consequences for the sustainability and well-being of local communities, a key focus of SDG 11. The provision of wildlife rescue and rehabilitation is an essential service for communities coexisting with natural ecosystems.

Service Interruption and Community Impact

The lapse in the OCAC contract led to a period where county animal control officers would not transport animals in need to the center. This created a critical gap in animal welfare services, leaving vulnerable wildlife without care and causing distress within the community. According to board chair Andrea Takla, the situation was “very upsetting,” highlighting the community’s reliance on the center’s work.

A Call for Sustainable Local Partnerships

In response to the funding shortfall, WWCC officials are campaigning to raise awareness and encourage municipalities that contract with OCAC to consider partnering directly with the center. This strategic shift aims to create a more sustainable and resilient funding model.

• For example, 1,273 animals came from Huntington Beach last year, representing a significant service provided without commensurate financial support from the county’s service provider.
• Executive Director Debbie McGuire stated, “We’re trying to be sustainable and stay here for the community. We just need help from the cities.”

This initiative represents an effort to build stronger, more direct partnerships (SDG 17) to ensure the continued protection of biodiversity (SDG 14 & 15) and the promotion of safe and sustainable communities (SDG 11).

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 14: Life Below Water

  This goal is relevant because the article focuses significantly on the rescue and rehabilitation of marine and coastal wildlife, specifically the brown pelicans. The text mentions that scores of these seabirds were “poisoned by domoic acid,” a neurotoxin produced by harmful algal blooms in the ocean. The center’s location on the coast and its work with animals found “on beaches” directly connect its activities to the health and protection of marine and coastal ecosystems.

• SDG 15: Life on Land

  This goal is addressed through the work of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center (WWCC) in protecting terrestrial animals and ecosystems. The article states the center treats “everything from hummingbirds and baby raccoons needing nourishment to raptors and wounded waterfowl requiring surgery.” It also mentions finding animals “in backyards, parklands and on beaches,” highlighting the interaction between human-populated areas and natural habitats. The center’s mission to rescue, treat, and release these animals contributes to halting biodiversity loss and protecting vulnerable species.

• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

  The core conflict described in the article revolves around this goal. It details the breakdown of a partnership between a civil society organization (the non-profit WWCC) and a public entity (Orange County Animal Care). The article discusses the expired contract, the insufficient funding offered by the county (“they offered me $12,000 a year”), and the subsequent lack of financial support despite the center caring for a large number of animals from the county’s jurisdiction. The center’s campaign to encourage cities to “contract with us directly” is an effort to forge new, more sustainable partnerships to achieve its conservation goals.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems

  This target aims to protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid adverse impacts. The WWCC’s work directly supports this by rescuing and rehabilitating coastal species like the brown pelicans affected by environmental threats such as domoic acid poisoning. By nursing “nearly 200 emaciated seabirds” back to health and releasing them, the center is taking direct action to mitigate harm and restore a component of the local coastal ecosystem.

• Target 15.5: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

  This target calls for urgent action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats and halt biodiversity loss. The article highlights the WWCC’s role in this by mentioning it “took in 8,176 wildlife patients” in one year. These animals, including raptors, raccoons, and waterfowl, are often victims of habitat encroachment or human-wildlife conflict. The center’s efforts to rescue, rehabilitate, and release them are a direct action to protect local biodiversity and prevent the loss of individual animals that might otherwise be “humanely euthanized or died in care.”

• Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships

  The article is a case study of the challenges related to this target. It describes the relationship between the WWCC (a civil society non-profit) and Orange County Animal Care (a public entity). The expired contract and the funding dispute, where the county brings in “45% of our patients” but provides no funding, exemplify an ineffective partnership. The center’s plea for cities to “contract with us directly” and its statement that “We just need help from the cities” is a call to build the kind of effective, properly resourced partnerships this target promotes.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Number of animals rescued and treated

  The article provides specific numbers that can serve as indicators of the scale of conservation efforts. It states the center took in “8,176 wildlife patients” last year and rescued “nearly 200 emaciated seabirds” during the domoic acid event. Tracking these numbers over time can measure the center’s impact on protecting biodiversity (Target 15.5) and coastal wildlife (Target 14.2).

• Financial support and funding structure

  The financial details in the article are direct indicators for measuring the effectiveness of partnerships (Target 17.17). Key metrics include:

  • The annual funding from the county (which dropped from “$9,000” to zero).
  • The per-animal cost of care (“$125 per animal”).
  • The total annual budget of the center (“$900,000 annual expenses”).
  • The potential funding that a fair partnership would provide (“up to $463,500”).

  These figures quantify the gap in the public-private partnership and can be used to track progress toward a more sustainable funding model.

• Proportion of animals from different jurisdictions

  The article specifies that “about 3,708 — more than 45% — arrived at the center from roughly two dozen unincorporated communities and municipalities… served by Orange County Animal Care.” This percentage is a clear indicator of the county’s reliance on the center’s services and can be used to argue for a more equitable partnership (Target 17.17). It also helps map where conservation needs are greatest, contributing to better planning for protecting life on land and below water (Targets 15.5 and 14.2).

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: latimes.com