The Economics of Geothermal Power Development in the Philippines

In the Philippines the development of geothermal energy resources for electricity generation is undertaken by two independent agencies. One develops the steamfield and sells the steam. The second buys the steam, which, in the case of the Philippines, is the National Power Company (NPC), a government-owned corporation mandated to produce electricity for sale and distribution to various consumers.
One such steamfield developer is the Philippine National Oil Company-Energy Development Corporation (PNOC/EDC), Geothermal Division. At present PNOC is operating in two areas, the Tongonan Field and the Palimpinon Field. This paper discusses the economics of the development of these two steamfields. Historical investments are presented for both. Past and projected additional investments up to commissioning for a new field are also presented. Variations in the investment levels for the three fields are discussed, and explanations for the variances are presented.     

唐山沿海地区地热资源开发利用及前景

唐山南部沿海地区地热资源十分丰富,近年来,地下热水的开发利用得到了初步的发展,但存在项目单一、利用率不高、资源浪费严重等问题。其开发利用应结合地区区位优势以及地热资源的特点,针对用途分层开采,梯级开发,综合利用,加强温泉旅游的拓展,合理、有序、科学地利用地下热水,更好地保护地热资源。     

The Selection and Design of Multiple-Species Habitat Preserves

Multiple-species habitat conservation plans (MSHCPs) are designed to eliminate project-by-project review and minimize species-by-species conflicts; but these one-time, short-term processes invariably compress the divergent expectations of interest groups into an exercise driven by economic, amenity, and aesthetic values rather than scientific values. Participants may define an MSHCP as an exchange of habitat preserves for federal permits to take populations of endangered animals and plants, but the outcome is typically driven by overarching arguments over land development and suburban sprawl. Existing land uses also constrain the size, shape, and linkages among wildlife habitats, leading to a divergence of MSHCPs from the scientific preserve selection and design literature. Problems created by constraints to preserve configuration (e.g., land costs, fragmentation, pre-existing amounts of edge, lack of connectivity) must be resolved by long-term, post facto management. To date, estimates of preserve persistence have not been used in MSHCPs. Rather than focus on map-based exercises of preserve elements, it may be more productive to set goals for the persistence of species (states) and ecosystems (processes) within the preserves-accepting that preserve configurations and arrays will be defined by the landscape and politics of suburban areas and that long-term management will provide the primary means of maintaining biodiversity along the wildland/urban interface.     

US army land condition-trend analysis (LCTA) program

The US Army Land Condition-Trend Analysis (LCTA) program is a standardized method of data collection, analysis, and reporting designed to meet multiple goals and objectives. The method utilizes vascular plant inventories, permanent field plot data, and wildlife inventories. Vascular plant inventories are used for environmental documentation, training of personnel, species identification during LCTA implementation, and as a survey for state and federal endangered or threatened species. The permanent field plot data documents the vegetational, edaphic, topographic, and disturbance characteristics of the installation. Inventory plots are allocated in a stratified random fashion across the installation utilizing a geographic information system that integrates satellite imagery and soil survey information. Ground cover, canopy cover, woody plant density, slope length, slope gradient, soil information, and disturbance data are collected at each plot. Plot data are used to: (1) describe plant communities, (2) characterize wildlife and threatened and endangered species habitat, (3) document amount and kind of military and nonmilitary disturbance, (4) determine the impact of military training on vegetation and soil resources, (5) estimate soil erosion potential, (6) classify land as to the kind and amount of use it can support, (7) determine allowable use estimates for tracked vehicle training, (8) document concealment resources, (9) identify lands that require restoration and evaluate the effectiveness of restorative techniques, and (10) evaluate potential acquisition property. Wildlife inventories survey small and midsize mammals, birds, bats, amphibians, and reptiles. Data from these surveys can be used for environmental documentation, to identify state and federal endangered and threatened species, and to evaluate the impact of military activities on wildlife populations. Short- and long-term monitoring of permanent field plots is used to evaluate and adjust land management decisions.     

A review of conservation legislation in Nepal: Past progress and future needs

Nepal is considered a leader among developing nations with regard to conservation legislation and programs; it was among the first Asian nations to develop national conservation legislation, sign CITES, and develop a national conservation strategy. We review the history of modern conservation law in Nepal from the Rana period (early 1950s) to the present. The early legislation focused mainly on strict preservation of areas and species; this phase culminated in the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1973. Subsequent legislation has evolved more in the direction of an integrated, holistic approach to conservation and is beginning to incorporate the participation of local people; subsequent amendments to the 1973 act allowed greater rights to rural villagers, and the designation of conservation areas in addition to the more strictly defined protected areas (national parks, wildlife reserves, etc.). Our review of conservation legislation suggests that Nepal has had many successes to date; the country has a protected area system covering over 10% of its land area, and many target species are recovering in parks and reserves. There are also some causes of concern, including staff shortages, financial constraints within the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, and the fact that there is little legal infrastructure outside of protected areas to enforce conservation laws; further, some aspects of hunting regulations are in need of revision. Primary needs include a comprehensive review of these policies and a nationalized strategy to ameliorate the shortcomings.     

秦皇岛地区地热资源开发利用中出现的问题与对策

秦皇岛地区地热资源丰富,地下热水被广泛开发利用。地下热水开发利用过程中出现的环境问题,表现在高矿化热水上涌引起的土壤盐碱化和局部地区水温逐年下降。为解决这些环境问题,必须加强管理,制订合理的地下水开采方案;改进落后的成井工艺,由专业队伍施工水井,采取必要措施切断冷热水的水力联系;在高矿化热水井附近打回灌井,阻止土壤盐碱化。     

ASSESSING ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF SEVERE SUSTAINED DROUGHT1

ABSTRACT: Evaluation criteria for reservoir and stream resources were developed to provide decision makers with feedback on environmental consequences of water allocation decisions under conditions of severe sustained drought within the Colorado River Basin by using the AZCOL gaming simulation model. Seven categories of flow dependent resources were identified which highlight resource states associated with reservoirs or river reaches within the AZCOL model. AZCOL directly simulates impact of water management decisions on five resource categories: threatened, endangered or sensitive fish; native nonlisted fish; wetland and riparian elements; national or state wildlife refuges; and hatcheries or other flow dependent facilities. Two additional categories - cold and warm water sport fish - are not modeled explicitly but are incorporated in the evaluation of monetary benefits from recreation on Colorado River waters. Each resource category was characterized at each time step in the simulation according to one of four environmental states: stable, threatened, endangered, or extirpated. Changes in resource states were modeled by time and flow-dependent decision criteria tied to either reservoir level or stream flows within the AZCOL model structure. Gaming results using the AZCOL model indicate environmental impacts would be substantial and that water allocation decisions directly impacted environmental resource states.     

The Islands Are Different: Human Perceptions of Game Species in Hawaii

Hawaii’s game animals are all non-native species, which provokes human–wildlife conflict among stakeholders. The management of human–wildlife conflict in Hawaii is further complicated by the discrete nature of island communities. Our goal was to understand the desires and perceived values or impacts of game held by residents of Hawaii regarding six game species [pigs (Sus scrofa), goats (Capra hircus), mouflon (Ovis musimon), axis deer (Axis axis), turkeys (Melagris gallopavo), and doves (Geopelia striata)]. We measured the desired abundance of game on the six main Hawaiian Islands using the potential for conflict index and identified explanatory variables for those desires via recursive partitioning. In 2011 we surveyed 5,407 residents (2,360 random residents and 3,047 pre-identified stakeholders). Overall 54.5 and 27.6 % of the emailed and mailed surveys were returned (n = 1,510). A non-respondent survey revealed that respondents and non-respondents had similar interest in wildlife, and a similar education level. The desired abundance of game differed significantly among stakeholders, species, and islands. The desired abundance scores were higher for axis deer, mouflon, and turkeys compared to pigs, goats or doves. Enjoyment at seeing game and the cultural value of game were widespread explanatory variables for desired abundance. Models for Lanai emphasized the economic value of game, whereas models for Maui identified the potential for game to contaminate soil and water. Models for Oahu and Kauai revealed concern for human health and safety. Given our findings we recommend managers design separate management plans for each island taking into consideration the values of residents.     

Local people's attitudes towards conservation and wildlife tourism around Sariska Tiger Reserve, India

Conservationists in the recent years view local peoples' support for protected areas management as an important element of biodiversity conservation. This is often linked to the direct benefits, which local communities get from the protected areas. These benefits could be in the form of biomass resources, park funds diverted to local villages by state agencies and revenue from wildlife tourism. There are a very few studies which have attempted to study the direct relationship between benefits from wildlife tourism and local support for conservation. In India, wildlife tourism is restricted, and mostly controlled by state and private agencies. Wildlife conservation policy does not view tourism in protected areas as a source of revenue for the local communities. The present study examines the local people's attitudes towards wildlife tourism and the impact of benefits from tourism on the local support for Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR), India. STR is a flagship for tourism where protected areas are increasingly being visited and where local support for wildlife tourism has not been studied adequately. Results indicate that two-thirds of the respondents were positive towards tourism and support for conservation. The respondents were aware that more tourism benefits are possible from a well-conserved protected area. There appears to be correlation between benefits obtained by local people from wildlife tourism and other sources, and support for protected area existence, suggesting that benefits impact people's attitudes towards conservation. Some of the main problems are the unequal distribution of tourism benefits, lack of locals' involvement in tourism and development. There is a need to clearly address these issues, so that protected areas may get the support of local people, which may lead to sustainable development.     

西藏农村能源消费及环境影响研究

西藏农村人口现有220多万，占全区总人口80％以上，农村经济落后，城乡差距很大。西藏农村能源资源主要有水力、地热、太阳能、风力、林木和畜粪等，煤炭、石油、天然气等高热值的优质能源很少。在这种经济发展水平及能源资源基础条件下，农村能源消费中高热值的现代能源比重很低，主要以生物质能如薪柴、牛粪、草皮等为主。这种低水平的能源消费结构已经对西藏脆弱的生态环境造成了巨大的破坏，西藏未来的能源发展战略迫切需要改变农村目前的消费结构，应发展太阳能、风能、农村小水电及输入高热值的化石能源替代目前生物质能的消费，减少因能源消费对西藏生态环境的破坏。     

PREDICTING IMPACTS FROM WATER CONSERVATION AND ENERGY DEVELOPMENT ON THE SALTON SEA,CALIFORNIA1

ABSTRACT: An input-output model was developed to predict changes in Salton Sea salinity and water level until the year 2000 due to proposed water conservation efforts and geothermal and solar pond energy developments. The model SALINP provided good agreement with the observed salinities for 1960–80. While SALINP was not overly sensitive to one-year changes in any of the major inputs, a change in the historical means of the Imperial Valley runoff and evaporative loss inputs produced a significant effect on future predictions. The proposed water conservation measures caused the predicted Salton Sea salinity for 2000 to greatly exceed 40,000 ppm, the level at which adverse effects to wildlife are believed to occur. The possible geothermal development also produced predicted salinities considerably above 40,000 ppm. The salinity predictions for solar ponds by themselves and in conjunction with geothermal development were below 45,000 ppm for 2000. The solar pond and geothermal combination also resulted in a predicted lowering of the “natural” water level by 5 to 7 feet by 2000.     

Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Planning: Goals and Strategies of Local Governments

Drawing from experiences gained from the development and implementation of four approved habitat conservation plans (HCPs), I describe the goals and strategies used by the nine local government members of the Riverside County Habitat Conservation Agency (RCHCA) to reconcile conflicts among a rapidly growing population and the need to conserve the habitat of a number of declining wildlife species in western Riverside County, California. Several important goals have been pursued by RCHCA member governments in their sponsorship of multiple-species habitat conservation plans (MSHCPs), including (1) establishing certainty and control over future uses of land; (2) eliminating project-by-project negotiations with federal and state wildlife agencies; (3) coordinating mitigation obligations under the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, California Environmental Quality Act, and other federal and state laws; (4) reducing conflict and litigation resulting from land development activities; and (5) ensuring that wildlife conservation activities are conducted in a manner that permits local governments to perform those functions necessary to maintain public health, safety, and welfare. I also describe the emergence of strategies by local governments to achieve MSHCP goals, including (1) use of an inclusive planning process that seeks to build consensus among affected interests; (2) extensive involvement of federal and state wildlife agencies in the preparation of MSHCP documents; (3) management of public lands to support MSHCP conservation objectives; (4) encouragement of voluntary conservation by private property owners through incentive programs; and (5) active solicitation of federal and state funding for MSHCP implementation activities.     

Identifying Preservation and Restoration Priority Areas for Desert Fishes in an Increasingly Invaded World

A commonly overlooked aspect of conservation planning assessments is that wildlife managers are increasingly focused on habitats that contain non-native species. We examine this management challenge in the Gila River basin (150,730 km²), and present a new planning strategy for fish conservation. By applying a hierarchical prioritization algorithm to >850,000 fish records in 27,181 sub-watersheds we first identified high priority areas (PAs) termed “preservation PAs” with high native fish richness and low non-native richness; these represent traditional conservation targets. Second, we identified “restoration PAs” with high native fish richness that also contained high numbers of non-native species; these represent less traditional conservation targets. The top 10 % of preservation and restoration PAs contained common native species (e.g., Catostomus clarkii, desert sucker; Catostomus insignis, Sonora sucker) in addition to native species with limited distributions (i.e., Xyrauchen texanus, razorback sucker; Oncorhynchus gilae apache, Apache trout). The top preservation and restoration PAs overlapped by 42 %, indicating areas with high native fish richness range from minimally to highly invaded. Areas exclusively identified as restoration PAs also encompassed a greater percentage of native species ranges than would be expected by the random addition of an equivalent basin area. Restoration PAs identified an additional 19.0 and 26.6 % of the total ranges of two federally endangered species—Meda fulgida (spikedace) and Gila intermedia (Gila chub), respectively, compared to top preservation PAs alone—despite adding only 5.8 % of basin area. We contend that in addition to preservation PAs, restoration PAs are well suited for complementary management activities benefiting native fishes.     

THE ECONOMICS OF GEOTHERMAL POWER

This article, based on a rapporteur's report, is a synthesis of papers read before the United Nations Symposium on the Development and Utilization of Geothermal Resources, held at Pisa, Italy, in 1970. It covers a broad cross-section of experience in exploiting geothermal energy, especially in Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America     

THE ECONOMICS OF GEOTHERMAL POWER

This article, based on a rapporteur's report, is a synthesis of papers read before the United Nations Symposium on the Development and Utilization of Geothermal Resources, held at Pisa, Italy, in 1970. It covers a broad cross-section of experience in exploiting geothermal energy, especially in Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America     

Evolving policies for conservation: An Historical Profile of the Protected Area System of Nepal

Nepal has instituted progressive conservation programmes since the 1970s. This move was in reaction to very rapid rates of land clearance in the lowland areas of the country and an opening up to the world that led to nature-based tourism as a major economic enterprise. Formal conservation began with the passage of national legislation in 1973 offering strong protection for national parks and wildlife reserves, but denied usufruct rights to rural communities. From the late 1970s to the 1990s, the legislation was amended several times. Each case was, in several fundamental ways, a loosening of control by government authorities. Nepal now has buffer zone legislation and allows for the designation of conservation areas in addition to the more-strictly defined categories. Beginning in the 1990s, both government and foreign-backed projects have been implementing landscape level conservation approaches; a number of initiatives in trans-boundary protected area management with India and China have also begun and non-governmental organizations have taken an increasingly active role. This paper considers the expansion of the protected areas network in light of historical, cultural and economic factors and concludes that Nepal has been reactive in adopting conservation programmes. Both outside and inside influences have strongly affected the development of conservation programmes and there are several areas in which more work needs to be done. This includes the need for implementing both national and international conservation law and adopting social and biological monitoring programmes in and around protected areas. In addition, factors outside the control of conservation officials (i.e. a Maoist insurgency) have indirectly hindered conservation programmes in recent years and have greatly complicated prospects for further success.     

AN ECONOMIC OVERVIEW OF HAWAII'S WATER INSTITUTIONS1

ABSTRACT: The problem of allocating scarce water resources among competing uses and users over time in Hawaii is addressed within the context of analytical institutional economics. The nature of this problem has been, in recent years, highly complicated by important institutional changes that control operating decisions for water supply and water pollution. Whereas the imbalance in governmental initiatives regarding changes in the system of water rights (predominantly state) and environmental laws (predominantly federal) are based on U.S. constitutional provisions, the more fundamental roots of the crucial legal doctrines involved have been traced back to the common property concept. This suggests that the more promising opportunities for meeting the water policy challenges of the state are to be found in the historical common property system (ahupua'a) of Hawaii.     

Wildlife conservation in Nigeria: Problems and strategies

Summary This paper draws the attention to the major threats to nature conservation in Nigeria, and reviews critically the measures adopted for the protection of wildlife. The major problems include habitat degradation (through uncontrolled logging, agricultural projects, industrial plantations, highway and urban development, and exploitation for fuelwood), over-hunting and poachingSteps taken so far to protect wildlife include the creation of one national park and eighteen game reserves, enactment of wildlife laws, signing of international treaties, and manpower development. These measures have however failed to produce the desired effect owing largely to public apathy, low level of funding, inadequate game laws and weak enforcement of existing legal provisions.It is suggested that the Federal Government should intervene more positively in favour of conservation by creating more national parks and assuming joint responsibility with the states for formulating wildlife laws. Furthermore, the role of non-governmental organizations in influencing conservation policies and mobilizing public opinion will be crucial in the difficult years ahead.Dr. P. A. Anadu, although recently on secondment to the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, UK; is currently on the staff of the Department of Forestry and Wildlife in the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Benin.     

Using ecological criteria to evaluate wilderness planning options in Idaho

Legally designated wilderness areas are acknowledged to be an important element in strategies to conserve biological diversity in United States. However, because of the restrictions on consumptive uses in wilderness, their establishment is normally contentious. Criteria for establishment have typically been associated with opportunity and aesthetic and experiential values. Biological data have not normally played a major role in guiding wilderness establishment. We present four wilderness allocation options for those public lands considered suitable for wilderness designation in Idaho. These options cover the span of choices presently available to wilderness planners in the state and range from not establishing any new wilderness areas to the inclusion of all suitable lands in wilderness. All options are evaluated using spatial biological data from the National Biological Survey's Gap Analysis Project. A conservation strategy that would protect a minimum of 10% of the area occupied by each of 113 native vegetation types and at a minimum 10% of the distribution of each of 368 vertebrate species was evaluated for each option. Only the inclusion of all suitable lands in wilderness, creating a system of 5.1 million ha came close to achieving these goals, protecting 65% of the vegetation types and 56% of the vertebrate species. We feel this approach, which allows planners to evaluate the ecological merits of proposed widerness units along with other values, can provide a means to resolve the impasse over additional wilderness designation in Idaho.     

Estimating the Cumulative Ecological Effect of Local Scale Landscape Changes in South Florida

Ecosystem restoration in south Florida is a state and national priority centered on the Everglades wetlands. However, urban development pressures affect the restoration potential and remaining habitat functions of the natural undeveloped areas. Land use (LU) planning often focuses at the local level, but a better understanding of the cumulative effects of small projects at the landscape level is needed to support ecosystem restoration and preservation. The South Florida Ecosystem Portfolio Model (SFL EPM) is a regional LU planning tool developed to help stakeholders visualize LU scenario evaluation and improve communication about regional effects of LU decisions. One component of the SFL EPM is ecological value (EV), which is evaluated through modeled ecological criteria related to ecosystem services using metrics for (1) biodiversity potential, (2) threatened and endangered species, (3) rare and unique habitats, (4) landscape pattern and fragmentation, (5) water quality buffer potential, and (6) ecological restoration potential. In this article, we demonstrate the calculation of EV using two case studies: (1) assessing altered EV in the Biscayne Gateway area by comparing 2004 LU to potential LU in 2025 and 2050, and (2) the cumulative impact of adding limestone mines south of Miami. Our analyses spatially convey changing regional EV resulting from conversion of local natural and agricultural areas to urban, industrial, or extractive use. Different simulated local LU scenarios may result in different alterations in calculated regional EV. These case studies demonstrate methods that may facilitate evaluation of potential future LU patterns and incorporate EV into decision making.