Baselining pollution: producing ‘natural soil’ for an environmental risk assessment exercise in Chile

Baselines are used extensively in environmental regulation and usually serve as a proxy of a certain ‘natural’ environment upon which the potential toxicity of a certain substance is assessed. However, there is nothing natural or automatic about the process via which baselines are created. Most of the time they are produced through a series of baselining practices in which heterogeneous entities are assembled in highly idiosyncratic ways, a process always crisscrossed by technical, political and ethical issues. This particular paper, based on material collected while observing an environmental risk assessment exercise carried out in an abandoned mining waste dump in northern Chile, looks at two kinds of practices that are especially salient. On the one hand, there is the recognition of a certain ‘naturalness’ of a particular piece of soil, a process in which visual valuation processes play a central role. On the other hand, there is the creation of ‘traceability,’ through which the particular extracted sample is linked to a series of entities, gaining in the process validity as representative of the ‘natural soil’ existing in this particular patch. In the conclusion, both operations will be connected with different difficulties that current environmental regulation faces in dealing with polluted sites such as the one under study.     

生态系统服务价值非货币量核算:理论框架与方法学

1997年两个开创性的著作,即Gretchen Daily主编的Nature’s Services:Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems一书及同年Robert Costanza在Nature上发表的The Value of the World’s Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital,引发了关于生态资本和生态系统服务、政策等研究的热潮。中国近几年来也将生态文明建设提到了前所未有的高度,并提出了一系列以生态系统服务价值核算为前提的制度和措施。基于此,本研究首先综述了现有生态系统服务分类体系及其存在的不足,剖析了现有核算生态系统服务价值的两类方法,即货币量方法和非货币量方法的核心差异点与可能的融合点,构建了基于能值分析方法和融合货币量核算方法的非货币量生态系统服务功能的新的核算框架,包括:(1)重新分类了生态系统服务价值,即直接价值(增加NPP、固碳释氧、增加土壤、补给地下水/涵养水源、提供水源水电和农产品等)、间接价值(净化大气、水、土壤、人畜排泄物和减少水土流失/侵蚀等)和存在价值(调节气候、调蓄水量、调节径流、旅游休闲、文化教育、维持生物多样性等)三大类;(2)确立了各类生态系统服务价值的核算方法体系;(3)厘清了核算中的加和原则等,以避免重复计算。该理论和方法学是解决现有生态系统服务价值核算方法不足的尝试和完整的方法论构建。     

池塘养殖生态系统空气调节服务价值的实证研究

生态服务价值的评估对于研究人员、政策制定者和公众都有重大意义，而农业生态系统价值往往集中于食物的供给价值，而生态系统的调控服务价值、支持服务价值和文化服务价值往往被忽略。空气调控服务属于生态系统调控服务中的一种，通过按季度检测池塘养殖水体的叶绿素a含量，计算养殖池塘的初级生产力，再以工业制氧法、碳税法和造林成本法估算了常规鱼类池塘养殖生态系统空气调节服务价值。结果表明：常规鱼类池塘养殖生态系统空气调节服务总价值为63 42248 yuan/a〖DK1〗·hm2。考虑到系统内部耗氧和向系统外释放含碳气体导致的价值损失，常规鱼类池塘养殖生态系统空气调节服务总净价值为28 88674 yuan/a〖DK1〗·hm2，其中固碳净价值为 25 46328 yuan/a〖DK1〗·hm2，释放氧气的净价值为3 42346 yuan/a〖DK1〗·hm2。相较44 0221 yuan/a〖DK1〗·hm2的池塘养殖水产品的市场价值，空气调节服务价值超过养殖水产品市场价值的一半以上，表明池塘养殖的生态服务价值对人类社会的贡献不可忽视。研究认为，由于池塘藻类的高增长率，常规水产池塘养殖系统空气调节服务价值高于一些种植业生态系统的空气调节服务价值。     

Restoration of badlands and natural capital: an application in Saldaña (Palencia,northern Spain)

The environment provides many necessary services for a plethora of human activities related to that are being acknowledged as our ecosystems degrade; therefore, ecosystem-based solutions are becoming increasingly more important. Hydrologic restorations (HRs) apply this type of ecosystem approach; there are multiple examples around the Mediterranean area executed since the beginning of the twentieth century. One good example of these restoration-type solutions can be seen in the badlands of Saldaña (Palencia, Spain). This case has been particularly successful in stopping gully erosion from badlands. Despite its importance for the well-being of the inhabitants of Saldaña and surroundings, the economic effects of these services which were put into place by this HR have never been assessed. In the present study, four different and compatible ecosystem restored services have been valued in monetary terms. For their aggregation, an innovative approach has been taken using the analytic hierarchy process methodology, so the weight of each ecosystem service (ES) can be determined. The economic flow of these ESs has been calculated in terms of annual income and updated values, from which natural capital increase in the population of Saldaña can be assessed. After analysing the results, it can be concluded that the village has earned more than seven million euros, which, in turn, generates important benefits to its inhabitants.     

Environmental hazards and waste management in Nsukka urban metropolis in Enugu State of Nigeria: how much are people willing to pay?

Solid waste management in Nsukka town in Enugu state of Nigeria has remained a major challenge despite the efforts of the state government through the Enugu State Waste Management Agency (ESWAMA). The current method whereby households dump refuse at designated locations by the road side to be cleared later has not yielded much improved sanitation of the town. In this study we propose an alternative waste management method that is believed to be superior to the status quo if properly managed. This study applies Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) to estimate the households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for this new method in order to ascertain its applicability in Nsukka urban. Data were collected from a sample of 500 households stratified according to major streets in the town. The results show that the mean WTP using different specifications of the model varies from N527.50 (about 2.68) to N530.90 (about 2.68) per month. The policy implication is that if the waste management agency adopts the proposed scenario and manages it well the average revenue realizable per month would be about N13,750,516 (about $69,800). The authorities can compare this with the cost of providing the service and see if it is worth the effort.     

病险水库管理决策中的环境价值评估 ——以水库的游憩价值为例

以滁州市黑洼水库的游憩价值为例,利用两边界二分式条件价值法,探讨了我国病险水库管理决策中的环境价值评估.利用收入限制的Logit模型,分析支付意愿均值和中值点估计和区间估计对其分布函数右尾变化的灵敏性.结果表明本研究中支付意愿的分布函数没有出现“大尾效应”,在最大投标值处,对分布函数进行简单截断的方法统计效率最高.滁州市公众对黑洼水库游憩功能提升的平均支付意愿为305元/户(95%置信区间265~351元/户);总价值为3782万元(95%置信区间3296~4355万元).表明即使是小型病险水库也可能具有极高的环境价值,病险水库管理决策必须考虑环境价值这一重要指标.     

污染土地价值评估问题探讨

工业化和城市化为人类福利的改善作出极大的贡献,也带来了大量的污染土地。污染土地是指含有能对人身健康、环境或其它目标产生直接或间接危害的污染物的土地。污染会影响土地的价值,因此,污染土地价值评估问题近年来受到关注。文章总结了污染土地价值评估的研究进展,对关键概念进行探讨和界定,依据我国常用的几种传统土地价值评估方法,探讨如何进行修正以适应污染土地的价值评估,并对污染清理费用、环境责任费用、污名等一些关键问题进行讨论,提出污染土地的价值损失中必须考虑几个方面的不确定性：（1）与工程措施有关的清理费用的不确定性;（2）当前和未来管制要求的不确定性;（3）市场对污染损害反应的不确定性;（4）随着时间变化,市场对污染损害反应的变化。最后结合实际,说明污染土地价值评估不仅要探索新方法,也要在增加和完善环境方面的立法、进一步完善技术标准、促进学科的相互交流和发挥行业组织的主导作用等方面加强。     

环境物品的经济价值评估方法:条件价值法

系统地介绍了西方国家常用的１种评价环境物品（公共物品）的方法——条件价值法。在大量文献和作者已有研究的基础上,解释了环境物品的特征和价值含义,综述了条件价值法的概念、特点和总体框架内容,分析了该方法中出现的偏差类型,总结了该方法在国际国内的已有应用,提出其应用潜力和应用前景     

FROM FLOW TO FISH TO DOLLARS: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO WATER ALLOCATION1

This paper details a case study of economic and natural system responses to alternative water management policies in the Cache La Poudre River basin, Colorado, 1980–1994. The case study is presented to highlight the value and application of a conceptual integration of economic, salmonid population, physical habitat, and water allocation models. Five alternative regimes, all intended to increase low winter flows, were investigated. Habitat enhancements created by alternative regimes were translated to population responses and economic benefits. Analysis concluded that instream flows cannot compete on the northern Colorado water rental market; cooperative agreements offer an economically feasible way to enhance instream flows; and establishing an instream flow program on the Cache La Poudre River mainstem is a potentially profitable opportunity. The alliance of models is a dynamic multidisciplinary tool for use in professional settings and offers valuable insight for decision-making processes involved in water management.     

Charging for Nature: Marine Park Fees and Management from a User Perspective

User fees can contribute to the financial sustainability of marine protected areas (MPAs), yet they must be acceptable to users. We explore changes in the fee system and management of Bonaire National Marine Park (BNMP) from the perspective of users. Responses from 393 tourists indicated that 90% were satisfied with park conditions and considered current user fees reasonable. However, only 47% of divers and 40% of non-divers were prepared to pay more. Diver willingness-to-pay (WTP) appears to have decreased since 1991, but this difference could be due in part to methodological differences between studies. Although current fees are close to diver maximum stated WTP, revenues could potentially be increased by improving the current fee system in ways that users deem acceptable. This potential surplus highlights the value of understanding user perceptions toward MPA fees and management.