Incorporating the Effects of Socioeconomic Uncertainty into Priority Setting for Conservation Investment

Abstract:  Uncertainty in the implementation and outcomes of conservation actions that is not accounted for leaves conservation plans vulnerable to potential changes in future conditions. We used a decision-theoretic approach to investigate the effects of two types of investment uncertainty on the optimal allocation of global conservation resources for land acquisition in the Mediterranean Basin. We considered uncertainty about (1) whether investment will continue and (2) whether the acquired biodiversity assets are secure, which we termed transaction uncertainty and performance uncertainty, respectively. We also developed and tested the robustness of different rules of thumb for guiding the allocation of conservation resources when these sources of uncertainty exist. In the presence of uncertainty in future investment ability (transaction uncertainty), the optimal strategy was opportunistic, meaning the investment priority should be to act where uncertainty is highest while investment remains possible. When there was a probability that investments would fail (performance uncertainty), the optimal solution became a complex trade-off between the immediate biodiversity benefits of acting in a region and the perceived longevity of the investment. In general, regions were prioritized for investment when they had the greatest performance certainty, even if an alternative region was highly threatened or had higher biodiversity value. The improved performance of rules of thumb when accounting for uncertainty highlights the importance of explicitly incorporating sources of investment uncertainty and evaluating potential conservation investments in the context of their likely long-term success.     

Bilateral Monopoly: A Market for Intercountry River Water Allocation

/ Collaboration of countries with an aim to share fresh surface water resources promises to generate potential joint benefits. Unfortunately, existing agreements lack the perspective and capacity to produce any real action in efficient cross-border water allocation. When that problem is encountered by any two adjacent countries claiming riparian rights to the same watercourse, this paper suggests that apossible solution to be examined is a water market. This market requires the relevant countries to engage in a bargaining process as described in the theory of bilateral monopoly. The bargaining process should determine both the water quantity to be transferred and the price to be paid. However, there has to be a fair allocation of the joint benefits resulting from the transfer for a sustainable price solution. As an empirical illustration, the paper examines the case of river Nestos shared by Bulgaria and Greece in the southern Balkans. A net revenue function quadratic in water is specified and estimated using scarce data on three agricultural crops in Greece. Sensitivity analysis on the size and distribution of the net benefits is also performed.KEY WORDS: Bilateral agreements; Water markets; Efficient allocation     

总量控制费用分摊的多目标规划模型及解法

文章指出了污染物总量控制规划中公平合理分摊优化治理投资费用的重要性，分析了现有的优化治理投资费用分摊方法存在的问题，建立了公平合理分摊优化治理投资费用的多目标规划模型，提出用最短距离理想点法加以求解，并通过实例验证了该方法的合理性。结果表明该模型及解法既可以保证总量控制规划方案的社会整体效益最大，又不失公平，从而确保总量控制规划方案的顺利实施。     

建筑陶瓷行业SO2污染物评价及总量控制实用方法

采用高斯点源模型对建陶生产造成的SO2地面浓度增量进行计算.利用比例下降模型计算建陶业的SO2允许排放总量,并根据企业的设备生产能力进行了总量分配,在方法上具有较强的可操作性,计算结果表明,可有效降低所在地区的SO2地面浓度.     

青藏高原重点区域工业布局的战略构想

论文认为在青藏高原具有相对比较优势的重点区域 ,应大力发展具有特色的现代工业。作者重点分析了高原重点区域工业发展的总体思路和战略目标 ,指出了工业发展的总体方向和区域工业布局框架设想。从协调好高原各个产业之间的相互关系出发 ,文章认为在高原重点区域应大力发展以钢铁-铁合金-有色-黄金为主的冶金工业 ,以盐化和油气化工为主的化学工业 ,以满足高原内部需要的建材工业 ,以及具有一定基础的机电-轻纺和藏民族手工业。     

区域污染源排污总量分配方案初探

文章以实现区域可持续发展为目标,对区域污染物排污总量的分配进行了初步探索,通过分析对其有影响的各种因素,最终为特定区域发展规划的制定,可持续发展的实现,提供了一种较好的污染物排污总量分配方案。     

沙颍河流域行政单元的排污权初始分配研究

初始排污权的有效分配是排污权交易制度实施的基础,结合中国现行行政特征,以行政单元作为排污权初始分配主体开展排污权初始分配研究。具体是：以沙颍河流域为例,根据淮河水利委员会制定的沙颍河流域水功能区划及COD、氨氮限排总量要求,以COD、氨氮作为排污权初始分配的客体,通过等比例削减方法对沙颍河流域内的行政单元进行了排污权初始分配,得到了流域内各市县级行政单元的COD、氨氮初始排放权,并在此基础上从政策可行性、区域合作性及上下游城市的协调性等方面提出了开展排污权初始分配的若干建议。     

“二级分配”方法在天津市水环境容量分配中的应用

公平、合理的水环境容量分配是环境总量控制工作的重要组成部分。本文在总结传统分配方法的基础上,提出环境容量“二级分配”方法,并应用在天津市水环境容量分配工作中。在保证完成总量控制目标的前提下,进行当地的产业结构优化。     

Linking the EU emissions trading scheme: economic implications of allowance allocation and global carbon constraints

We investigate the role of domestic allowance allocation and global emissions constraints for the carbon-market impacts of linking the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) internationally. Employing a quantitative simulation model of the global carbon market, we find that the economic benefits from connecting the European ETS to emerging non-EU schemes strongly depend on the regional allowance allocation of the linking participants: In a world of moderate carbon constraints, an economically efficient regional allowance allocation induces a much stronger fall in total compliance costs than a sub-optimal (i.e. too high) domestic allocation of emissions permits. However, a more efficient (i.e. stricter) allocation shifts abatement efforts and compliance costs to energy-intensive industries which are covered by the domestic ETS. We further find that committing to ambitious global emissions reduction targets (compatible with stabilizing CO₂ concentrations at 450 ppm) induces much stronger regional abatement efforts and substantially higher compliance costs for the abating regions. In such an ambitious climate policy regime, an efficient domestic allocation of allowances is even more important from an economic perspective: Here, linking emissions trading schemes diminishes the associated compliance costs on the largest scale.

Water Transactions for Streamflow Restoration,Water Supply Reliability,and Rural Economic Vitality in the Western United States

Across the western United States, environmental water transaction programs (EWTPs) restore environmental flows by acquiring water rights and incentivizing changes in water management. These programs have evolved over several decades, expanding from relatively simple two‐party transactions to multiobjective deals that simultaneously benefit the environment and multiple water‐using sectors. Such programs now represent an important water management tool and provide an impetus for collaboration among stakeholders; yet, most evaluations of their effectiveness focus exclusively on environmental outcomes, without adequate attention to impacts on other water users or local economies. To understand how these programs affect stakeholders, a systematic, multiobjective evaluation framework is needed. To meet this need, we developed a suite of environmental and socioeconomic indicators that can guide the design and track the implementation of water transaction portfolios, and we applied them to existing EWTPs in Oregon and Nevada. Application of the indicators quantifies impacts and helps practitioners design water transaction portfolios that avoid unintended consequences and generate mutually beneficial outcomes among environmental, agricultural, and municipal interests.