Mandatory taxes and/or voluntary contributions are commonly adopted as the payment vehicle when eliciting willingness to pay (WTP) in environmental valuation studies. While mandatory taxes may arouse negative feelings, voluntary contributions may lead to strategic behaviour (over bidding) or free riding (under bidding). In this paper, we explore an alternative payment vehicle which avoids the draconian undertones associated with taxes and may be more incentive compatible than a voluntary contribution – a tax that incorporates a refund option. The template for such a payment vehicle is the value added tax charged to tourists in Ireland, but which can be reclaimed on exiting the country. In the context of raising public funds to support the conservation of rural countryside landscape, a comparison is made between the elicited WTP via a mandatory tax and that elicited via the alternative payment method incorporating a refund option. While we observe similar participation rates between the two payment methods, the refund option reveals a higher stated WTP. 相似文献
The main emissions from coal combustion at thermal power plants are carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and airborne inorganic particles such as fly ash and soot; CO2, methane, and CFCs are greenhouse gases. These emissions are considered to be partially responsible for harmful global climate change. This review summarizes the status of thermal power plants in India and their various types of emissions that directly or indirectly produce harmful effects on the environment and human health. Moreover, it focuses on various types of preventive measures used to avoid/minimize emissions. 相似文献
Feasibility of an irrigation project is evaluated by two criteria viz., reservoir capacity to irrigate its command area and
economic returns by incremental crop production versus capital investment for dam construction. The annual water requirement
of different crops in the command area is estimated and compared with the availability of water from the dam for irrigation
purpose. The annual crop water requirement is estimated as the sum of evapotranspiration for crops and transmission and other
losses. Evapotranspiration is estimated by modified Penman formula. Economics of crop production is analyzed by first estimating
the monetary value of existing crop production under current rain fed conditions and then estimating the incremental production
of irrigated command area for the proposed crop pattern. The proposed cropping pattern is prepared so as to maximize the benefit
of crop production and fodder requirement while maintaining a better crop rotation to improve and maintain physical, chemical,
and biological conditions of the soil. The dam is to be used for irrigation and water supply only. Command area served by
this reservoir will be 76,500 ha. The existing annual agricultural return is Rs. 2995.56 lakhs and with the proposed irrigation
scheme, it is estimated as Rs. 1,77,91.90 lakhs. The incremental annual return would be Rs. 1,47,96.35 lakhs i.e., 642.68%
increase in annual return. 相似文献
A multivariate time series approach vector autoregression (VAR) along with impulse response function and variance decomposition
technique has been employed to look into the interrelationship among O3, NO, NO2, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs, namely, benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and xylene in the present study) using 3 months
long continuous time series data of 1 h average concentration of these pollutants at one of the traffic sites in Delhi, India.
It is found that the VAR of order 2 (i.e., past two lagged values of 1 h interval) is sufficient to represent the observed
time series at the station studied. The impulse response function and variance decomposition analysis indicate that O3 concentration shows an immediate rise and persists for a longer duration (typically 8–10 h) once the impulse of NO2, benzene, ethylbenzene, or xylene is given in the ambient environment. However, in case of toluene, the reverse effect has
been observed. Since O3 forms in the troposphere due to photolysis of NO2, it is not surprising that its impulse triggers O3 formation in the ambient environment. However, in case of VOCs, this has been attributed to their tendency to show higher
inclination toward intermediary reactions leading to the formation of O3 rather than their (VOCs) reaction with O3. Among VOCs, only toluene has been observed to show higher inclination toward its reaction with O3. Apart from this, variance decomposition technique also reveals that the relation of NO with NO2 is more important than the relation of NO with O3 creating a conducive atmosphere for O3 formation in the present scenario. Thus, the multivariate time series approach provides significant insight about the role
played by the dominant individual VOCs and NOx in influencing the O3 concentration in ambient urban atmosphere whereas a photochemical modeling approach gives an overall view of NOx and VOCs behavior with respect to O3 by using the O3 isopleth technique. 相似文献
The acoustic environment in urban areas has gained prominence in recent times due to rapid industrial and commercial development in metropolitan cities. Various attempts have been made to predict and model the trends in urban ambient noise levels using different statistical and dynamic models. The present study makes an attempt to examine the role of meteorological parameters affecting the ambient noise levels in Delhi. The results show significant improvement in overall noise scenario of Delhi since the introduction of compressed natural gas vehicles in public transport of Delhi. The noise level is significantly reduced by high vegetation cover as well as by low relative humidity over Delhi. The regression models developed for the present study clearly show the significant contribution of meteorological parameters in governing the ambient noise levels in Delhi. 相似文献
This study analyzes the factors influencing the adoption of various adaptation practices by a highly marginalized indigenous community in the remote rural Mid-Hills of Nepal. The analysis is based on a household survey conducted among 221 Chepang households selected randomly. A multivariate probit model was used to analyze five categories of adaptation choices against a set of socio-economic, institutional, infrastructural, and perception variables. Perception of rainfall changes, size of landholding, status of land tenure, distance to motor road, access to productive credit, information, extension services, and skill development trainings are all influential to enable households to deviate away from traditional coping strategies and adopt suitable practices to adapt to climate vagaries. Policies and development activities should be geared to address these determinants in order to facilitate adaptation. 相似文献
Solar air heater (SAH) is simple and the greatest effective approach to utilize and convert solar energy into thermal energy for heating utilizations. The employment of artificial roughness under side of the observer surface is the key technique for augmenting heat transfer with minimal friction factor penalty. Current paper summarized different kinds of artificial roughness used in SAH, which augments its performance. In this review article, 96 research papers are cited, which provide detailed information about the effect of different geometrical parameters on heat transfer and friction factor. This paper also brings the information about the optimum roughness parameters and heat transfer and friction factor correlation developed by different investigators in tabular form. Optimum roughness parameters and empirical correlations are used for comparative analysis of heat transfer, friction factor, and thermo-hydraulic performance parameter (THPP) of different roughness geometries. The best performing roughness geometry is reported on the basis of comparative analysis. Mathematical model is developed for predicting the thermal efficiency (ηth) of roughened SAH duct.
Climate change poses a major threat to agricultural production and food security in India, and climate‐smart agriculture (CSA) is crucial in addressing the potential impacts. Using survey data from 1,267 farm households in 25 villages from Bihar and Haryana in the Indo‐Gangetic Plains, this study analyzes the factors that determine the probability and level of adoption of multiple CSA practices, including seeds of stress‐tolerant varieties, minimum tillage, laser land leveling, site‐specific nutrient management and crop diversification. We applied a multivariate probit model for the simultaneous multiple adoption decisions, and ordered probit models for assessing the factors affecting the level of adoption. The adoption of the various CSA practices is interrelated, whereas several factors, including household characteristics, plot characteristics, market access and major climate risks are found to affect the probability and level of CSA adoption. Climate‐smart agriculture (CSA) adoption and its intensity also vary significantly between eastern Bihar, which is relatively poor and densely populated, and north‐western Haryana. Engaging multiple stakeholders such as farmers, agricultural institutions, agricultural service providers and concerned government departments at the local level is crucial for the large‐scale uptake of CSA. The study, therefore, calls for agricultural policy reforms so that most of the issues related to the uptake of CSA can be adequately addressed. 相似文献