Wetland management: an analysis of past practice and recent policy changes in Ontario

The Ontario Government has recently released its latest Provincial Policy Statement (PPS), which includes a policy concerning wetland protection. This paper uses interviews with key respondents and the results of three separate case studies that examined the former PPS in order to assess the ability of the new policy to improve wetland conservation efforts in Ontario. The case studies include wetland conservation and urban stormwater management in the City of London for the periods 1978-1999 and 1978-2000, respectively. As well, agricultural drainage that occurred in the Township of Zorra for the period 1978-1997 is used to address this management dimension. While progress is evident, the current policy will be difficult to implement effectively because it inadequately deals with the fundamental aspects of management: fragmented jurisdiction, interagency communication, financial arrangements, enforcement, and promoting informed decision making.     

Environmental Equity and the Role of Public Policy: Experiences in the Rijnmond Region

This Φ Ψ study of environmental equity uses secondary quantitative data to analyze socioeconomic disparities in environmental conditions in the Rijnmond region of the Netherlands. The disparities of selected environmental indicators—exposure to traffic noise (road, rail, and air), NO₂, external safety risks, and the availability of public green space—are analyzed both separately and in combination. Not only exposures to environmental burdens (“bads”) were investigated, but also access to environmental benefits (“goods”). Additionally, we held interviews and reviewed documents to grasp the mechanisms underlying the environmental equity situation, with an emphasis on the role of public policy. Environmental equity is not a priority in public policy for the greater Rotterdam region known as the Rijnmond region, yet environmental standards have been established to provide a minimum environmental quality to all local residents. In general, environmental quality has improved in this region, and the accumulation of negative environmental outcomes (“bads”) has been limited. However, environmental standards for road traffic noise and NO₂ are being exceeded, probably because of the pressure on space and the traffic intensity. We found an association of environmental “bads” with income for rail traffic noise and availability of public green space. In the absence of regulation, positive environmental outcomes (“goods”) are mainly left up to market forces. Consequently, higher-income groups generally have more access to environmental “goods” than lower-income groups.     

Environmental Policy Beliefs of Stakeholders in Protected Area Management

Although the importance of understanding stakeholder beliefs regarding environmental policy has been noted by many authors, research focusing on the heterogeneity of stakeholder views is still very scarce and concentrated on a product-oriented definition of stakeholders. The aim of the present study is to address this gap by examining environmental policy beliefs of stakeholder groups engaged in protected area management. Questionnaires containing 73 five-point Likert scale items were administered to eight different stakeholder groups involved in the management of Greek protected areas. Items referred to core beliefs on environmental policy, namely, the value framework and sustainable development, and secondary beliefs, that is, beliefs on social consensus and ecotourism development. Our study used as a starting point respondent recruitment on the basis of a traditional product-centered approach. We investigated whether environmental policy beliefs can be used to effectively segregate stakeholders in well-defined segments, which override the product-oriented definition of stakeholders. Indeed, K-means clustering revealed an innovation-introduction and an implementation-charged sample segment. The instrument utilized in this research proved quite reliable and valid in measuring stakeholder environmental policy beliefs. Furthermore, the methodology implied that stakeholder groups differ in a significant number of belief-system elements. On the other hand, stakeholder groups were effectively distinguished on a small set of both core and secondary beliefs. Therefore, the instrument used can be an effective tool for determining and monitoring environmental policy beliefs of stakeholders in protected area management. This is of considerable importance in the Greek case, given the recent establishment of 27 administrative bodies of protected areas, all of which are required to incorporate public consultation into management practices.     

Exploring the risks and benefits of flexibility in biodiversity offset location in a case study of migratory shorebirds

Biodiversity offsets aim to counterbalance the residual impacts of development on species and ecosystems. Guidance documents explicitly recommend that biodiversity offset actions be located close to the location of impact because of higher potential for similar ecological conditions, but allowing greater spatial flexibility has been proposed. We examined the circumstances under which offsets distant from the impact location could be more likely to achieve no net loss or provide better ecological outcomes than offsets close to the impact area. We applied a graphical model for migratory shorebirds in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway as a case study to explore the problems that arise when incorporating spatial flexibility into offset planning. Spatially flexible offsets may alleviate impacts more effectively than local offsets; however, the risks involved can be substantial. For our case study, there were inadequate data to make robust conclusions about the effectiveness and equivalence of distant habitat-based offsets for migratory shorebirds. Decisions around offset placement should be driven by the potential to achieve equivalent ecological outcomes; however, when considering more distant offsets, there is a need to evaluate the likely increased risks alongside the potential benefits. Although spatially flexible offsets have the potential to provide more cost-effective biodiversity outcomes and more cobenefits, our case study showed the difficulty of demonstrating these benefits in practice and the potential risks that need to be considered to ensure effective offset placement.     

EVALUATING INTERDEPENDENT WATERSHED CONSERVATION AND GROUND WATER MANAGEMENT REFORMS1

Abstract: Conserving the watershed can help to preserve ground water recharge. Preventing overuse of available water through pricing reforms can also substantially increase the value of an aquifer. Inasmuch as users are accustomed to low prices, efficiency pricing may be politically infeasible, and watershed conservation may be considered as an alternative. We estimate and compare welfare gains from pricing reform and watershed conservation for a water management district in Oahu that obtains its water supply from the Pearl Harbor aquifer. We find that pricing reform is welfare superior to watershed conservation unless the latter is able to prevent very large recharge losses. Watershed conservation that yields net gains in combination with pricing reform may cause net losses without the pricing reform. If adoption of watershed conservation delays the implementation of pricing reform, the benefits of the latter are significantly reduced.     

POLICY DROUGIT: THE CASE OF SOUTH FLORIDA1

ABSTRACT: In this paper, we review recent experience with drought in south Florida, and report some results of a study of the likely agricultural economic impacts of drought. Our conclusions can be summarized as follows. (1) Whether a period of low rainfall becomes a “drought” in south Florida is determined largely by institutional factors. (2) The impacts of a drought event are dependent on the rules the Water Management District uses to manage the event. If the rules involve effective reductions in irrigation supply, the financial impacts may be large, but are sensitive to the way in which cutbacks are imposed. (3) Current drought management regulations do not appear to minimize the short-run cost of drought. (4) Current policies which seek to minimize the short-run cost of drought are inconsistent with dynamically-optimal policies.     

APPROACHES TO WATER RESOURCE POLICY AND PLANNING IN TEXAS1

ABSTRACT: Texas is one of the states in which limitations in water supplies could severely constrain economic growth in certain areas. The traditional planning approach for addressing this problem has involved devising schemes for large water development projects, which for many years included the importation of water from other states. Now the attitude towards water resource management is changing, and it is generally agreed that better management of existing supplies is the preferred approach. In this paper we review some of the changes that have recently occurred in Texas, including attempts to streamline the water institutions in such a way that they might be more responsive to the need for more comprehensive management of water resources statewide, with greater emphasis on social and environmental concerns.     

ECONOMIC COSTS AND BENEFITS OF INSTREAM FLOW PROTECTION FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES IN AN INTERNATIONAL BASIN1

ABSTRACT: The U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) restricts federal agencies from carrying out actions that jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered species. The U.S. Supreme Court has emphasized that the language of the ESA and its amendments permits few exceptions to the requirement to give endangered species the highest priority. This paper estimates economic costs associated with one measure for increasing instream flows to meet critical habitat requirements of the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow. Impacts are derived from an integrated regional model of the hydrology, economics, and institutions of the upper Rio Grande Basin in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico. One proposal for providing minimum streamflows to protect the silvery minnow from extinction would provide guaranteed year round streamflows of at least 50 cubic feet per second in the San Acacia reach of the upper Rio Grande. These added flows can be accomplished through reduced surface diversions by New Mexico water users in dry years when flows would otherwise be reduced below the critical level required by the minnow. Based on a 44‐year simulation of future inflows to the basin, we find that some agricultural users suffer damages, but New Mexico water users as a whole do not incur damages from a policy that reduces stream depletions sufficiently to provide habitat for the minnow. The same policy actually benefits downstream users, producing average annual benefits of over $200,000 per year for west Texas agriculture, and over $1 million for El Paso municipal and industrial water users, respectively. Economic impacts of instream flow deliveries for the minnow are highest in drought years.     

城市水环境建设中的资本运作探讨

城市水环境的治理和改善需要高额资金，建设中的资本运作尤为重要。本文在论述了传统水环境建设投资模式及其缺陷的基础上提出了城市水环境建设中资本运作的基本思路，从成立专业投资公司、拓宽融资渠道和确立收益回报形式等几个主要环节详细阐述了资本运作基本模式的组成和功能，介绍了新的融资渠道和收益形式，并对新的资本运作模式应注意的问题进行了深入的分析。     

环境政策作用机制的分析框架

了解环境政策作用机制是环境政策有效调控的前提和核心,准确理解环境政策作用的背景、成因、过程、作用机制、效应动态、演变规律等;全面而深刻地环境政策副作用和变形的生成-演变规律,了解政策副作用形成机制、传导机制、积累发展机制、作用机制、研究政策变形对环境政策适应性和效率的影响才可能准确预测环境政策所引发的变化,这些变化对社会经济的影响,进而对环境政策的反馈影响和反馈作用,才可能准确有效地设计开发政策工具和调控机制,有铲地进行环境政策调控,提高环境政策的预见性、准确性、操作性和适应性。