Valuing environmental amenities through inverse optimization: Theory and case study

Amenity values of private forests are implicit but play a critical role in decision and policy making. This study presents an innovative valuation approach integrating techniques of operations research and economic theory of pricing environmental goods. A forest planning problem was inversed through altering its reward function of timber values so that the observed harvesting behavior became optimal. The discrepancy between the original and new rewards uncovered amenities values which were linked to forest attributes via hedonic models. This method was applied to a case study of the U.S. southern pine region. Depending on forest conditions, total economic values of amenities varied from zero to just under one thousand dollar per ha. At a discount rate of 3%, a typically managed forest generated on average $243 ha⁻¹ of amenities values per annum, more than twice of harvested timber values. Structural diversity and density of large pine trees were the key determinants to preserving forests for environmental amenities.     

Evaluating the eco-environment benefit of land reclamation in the dump of an opencast coal mine

Land reclamation significantly affects the ecological and environmental conditions of mining areas. However, quantifying the exact effects is difficult because of the lack of reliable data. The estimation of eco-environment benefit contributes to clarify the ecological and environmental changes caused by land reclamation and to provide useful information for policy-makers concerned with sustainable development. The aim of this study is to investigate variations in eco-environment benefit in response to land use changes during land reclamation. The West dump, one of the earliest regions to implement ecological restoration in Liaoning Province, is selected as the study area. The widely used methods for eco-environment benefits based on the land use change were proposed and applied to the West dump in 2004, 2009, and 2014. The total eco-environment benefits in study areas were 0.98 million dollars in 2004, 1.39 million dollars in 2009, and 1.43 million dollars in 2014, with an increase of 0.41 million dollars from 2004 to 2009 mainly because of the increasing areas of artificial woodland and reclaimed cropland. The combined eco-environment benefits of artificial woodland, improved grassland, and reclaimed cropland were over 90% of the total benefits. Soil formation and protection, biodiversity protection, and gas regulation were the top three functions with high eco-environment benefits, contributing about half of the total eco-environment benefits. The results suggest that future studies estimating eco-environment benefits should pay more attention to ecosystems in fragile ecological regions where various human interferences happen frequently. All of the abovementioned results made the techniques of estimation of the eco-environment benefit of land reclamation are more meaningful in guiding the future exploitation and reclamation of mining areas.     

中国石油资源的资产负债表编制初探

我国境内石油行业总体呈现原油开采量上升的态势,为之付出的经济和生态成本也越来越大。开展我国境内石油资源资产负债表的编制工作对于摸清我国石油资源的家底、评估我国石油资源开采的经济—资源—环境综合成本、探讨我国石油开采战略的合理性具有重要的意义。本文首先探讨了石油资源资产负债表的编制方法和框架,构建了集"生态系统服务"、"环境污染"和"资源消耗"三位于一体的"生态负债"账户。其次,收集并整理了重要的污染物处理成本和生态系统服务的价值评估成果,构建了价值化因子数据表。最后,基于2012年数据尝试编制了目前我国的第一份石油资源资产负债表。结果显示,(1)2012年末,我国石油资源的资产总额为1.47×109万元,负债总额为9.03×107万元,所有者权益为1.38×109万元;(2)石油资源资产总额占到当年政府资产总额的14.43%,占政府资源性资产比重达31.12%;(3)石油行业的资产负债率为6.15%,负债权益比达到了6.56%;(4)"生态系统服务"构成了负债的最大比重,达到了98.16%。总的来说,我国石油开采行业整体处于"高资产、高负债、强生态压力和弱可持续性"的状态。从这份资产负债表我们可以看出,我国境内石油开采的生态成本不容忽视。随着资源的不断开发,石油开采的边际生态成本只会越来越大,因此,能指向经济和生态两方面的综合成本应该取代账面成本成为政府进行石油资源开发的决策依据之一。此外,要落实石油资源资产负债表对于生态保护的实际指导意义,我们建议应该将石油资源开采的资产负债率、负债权益比等指标纳入官员的绩效考核体系。     

稻鱼共生系统生态服务功能价值比较——以浙江省青田县和贵州省从江县为例

石油农业导致生态系统退化与环境受损.人们在寻找新的农业途径时,将目光转向传统农业,开始对传统农耕模式的价值进行挖掘.稻鱼共生是最为典型的中国传统生态农业模式之一,因其历史悠久、景观独特和效益显著而被联合国粮农组织列为首批全球重要农业文化遗产保护试点之一.在数千年的农耕文化演变过程中,同宗的青田县和从江县的传统农业系统,由于受到不同的自然、经济和文化的影响,分别形成了以养鱼为主和以种稻为主的稻鱼共生系统.本文采用市场价值法、造林成本法、替代价格法、大气污染治理成本法和水库工程费用法等,分别对青田县和从江县传统农业区生态系统服务功能的经济进行评估.结果表明,以养鱼为主的青田县直接经济价值比以种稻为主的从江县平均每公顷高近1.70万元,但其闻接价值却比后者低,从江县稻鱼共生系统的气体调节和养分保持价值分别是青田县的1.35和1.59倍.最后,本文提出了提高农民收入的途径,以更好地保护这一具有全球重要意义的农业文化遗产.     

Air quality assessment by contingent valuation in Ji'nan, China

Along with urbanization and environmental deterioration within China, many residents' desire for improved air quality has increased. To address this topic, this study focuses on the relationship between poor air quality and residents' willingness to pay for improved air quality in the city of Ji'nan. As a means of quantifying an individual's willingness to pay (WTP) for improved air quality, a contingent valuation method (CVM) was employed. A sample of 1500 residents was chosen, based on the stratified sampling method. The respondents' WTP was then elicited through a series of face-to-face interviews, conducted using a range of hypothetical, open-ended scenario questions. The results showed that 59.7% of respondents were able to express a positive WTP, and that the average WTP was 100 Chinese Yuan (CNY) per person, per year. In order to establish the relationship between endogenous variables and WTP, both a Probit model on the probability of a positive WTP, and a stepwise regression model were constructed. Most parameters in the econometric analysis demonstrated the expected results. It was found that annual household income, expenditure on the treatment of respiratory diseases and workers in the family significantly influenced WTP. The rates of positive WTP and the monetary amount were also larger for men than for women. Unlike developed countries, most respondents regard air quality improvement as a government responsibility in that more than 40% of respondents had no incentive to bear the costs of attempting to achieve better air quality, indicating a relatively low environmental consciousness.     

Recreation benefits of natural area characteristics at the El Yunque National Forest

The paper applies the Contingent Valuation Method using a visitor survey to determine trip values to three rivers in northeastern Puerto Rico. Sample data were obtained from 984 interviews conducted in 13 sites during the summer months. The trip value is statistically decomposed into components representing natural features and recreation activities. The median net economic value of a river visit without waterfalls or foot trails is $96. Recreation at rivers with both waterfalls and foot trails has a median value of $138 per trip. The presence of waterfalls accounts for $23 and foot trails $19 per trip. This information can be pertinent for managers in selecting recreation site locations and protecting them from competing uses.     

改善空气质量健康效益的非市场价值评估

采用目前美国国家海洋局(NOAA)推荐的双边界二分式条件价值评估方法,对北京市空气质量改善产生的健康效益进行评估.对北京市城八区居民共发放880份调查问卷,调查居民对通过改善空气质量进而使健康免受危害计划的最大支付意愿.结果表明:未来5年内北京市居民每户的平均最大支付意愿为652.33元/a,居民健康总经济效益现值为61.08×108～75.41×108元;支付意愿影响因素分析表明,支付意愿与居民家庭经济状况、受教育程度、健康状况有正向关系,男性比女性的支付意愿高.分析结果与经济学原理相符,该评估的可靠性得以验证.      

长江口湿地生态系统服务功能价值的评估

长江口湿地是我国重要的滨海湿地，具有多种生态服务功能。参考Costanza等提出的17项生态系统服务功能，利用市场价值法、造林成本法、影子工程法、费用替代法以及专家评估法等方法．对长江口湿地生态价值进行了评估。结果表明，长江口湿地生态系统的生态服务价值为40．00亿元/a。其中，成陆造地价值为9．0亿元/a，物质生产价值8．86亿元/a，大气组分调节价值为1．15亿元/a，水分调节价值为1．54亿元/a，净化水体价值为3．4l亿元/a，提供栖息地价值为2．86亿元/a，文化科研价值为8．38亿元/a，美学价值为4．81亿元/a。并提出对生态系统服务价值的利用应本着可持续发展的原则。     

Three reasons to use annual payments in contingent valuation surveys: Convergent validity,discount rates,and mental accounting

We present three arguments for using ongoing annual payments in contingent valuation (CV) surveys that estimate the benefit of a long-lasting environmental improvement. First, by matching the duration of the payments with the duration of the environmental benefits, survey respondents are spared from performing complicated present value calculations. Second, willingness to pay (WTP) estimates from CV surveys that include ongoing annual payments best match WTP estimates obtained using travel cost surveys. Third, respondents are less likely to face binding mental budget constraints with ongoing annual payments than with a larger one-time payment. In addition, respondents’ discount rates may be estimated by collecting non-hypothetical, individual time preference data as part of the valuation survey.     

An experimental study to explore WTP for aviation carbon offsets: the impact of a carbon tax on the voluntary action

As Australia recently introduced a mandatory carbon price, this paper provides a rare perspective of how such institutional changes influence consumer preferences for voluntary climate action. When examined using three contingent valuation questions, the results show that the compliance mechanism induces a substantial reduction in the number of air travellers who are willing to pay extra for voluntary carbon offsets and in the payment amount, although the crowding-out effect is incomplete. A disproportionately larger welfare benefit is attached to the carbon offsets for a domestic flight than its international counterpart. Overall empirical findings advocate the continued role of voluntary programmes.