Ecological-Economic Modeling for Biodiversity Management: Potential, Pitfalls, and Prospects

Abstract:  Ecologists and economists both use models to help develop strategies for biodiversity management. The practical use of disciplinary models, however, can be limited because ecological models tend not to address the socioeconomic dimension of biodiversity management, whereas economic models tend to neglect the ecological dimension. Given these shortcomings of disciplinary models, there is a necessity to combine ecological and economic knowledge into ecological-economic models. It is insufficient if scientists work separately in their own disciplines and combine their knowledge only when it comes to formulating management recommendations. Such an approach does not capture feedback loops between the ecological and the socioeconomic systems. Furthermore, each discipline poses the management problem in its own way and comes up with its own most appropriate solution. These disciplinary solutions, however, are likely to be so different that a combined solution considering aspects of both disciplines cannot be found. Preconditions for a successful model-based integration of ecology and economics include (1) an in-depth knowledge of the two disciplines, (2) the adequate identification and framing of the problem to be investigated, and (3) a common understanding between economists and ecologists of modeling and scale. To further advance ecological-economic modeling the development of common benchmarks, quality controls, and refereeing standards for ecological-economic models is desirable.     

ECONOMIC AND WATER QUALITY EFFECTS OF VARIABLE AND UNIFORM APPLICATION OF NITROGEN1

ABSTRACT: Nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates for achieving optimum crop yields often vary within a field due to spatial variability in soil moisture and nitrogen content and other crop growth factors. When there is substantial within-field variability in these factors, uniform application of N (UAN) may not be economically efficient in terms of maximizing net return because N is likely to be over-applied in some areas and under-applied in other areas of the field. In addition, over-application can adversely affect water quality. A sample of fields in a Midwestern agricultural watershed is used to test for statistically significant differences in N application rates, crop yields, surface and ground water quality and net returns between UAN and variable application of N (VAN) for four cropping systems. Profitability and water quality benefits of VAN are sensitive to the distribution of soil types within a field. Water quality effects and profitability of UAN and VAN vary with cropping systems. VAN is not uniformly superior to UAN in terms of increasing net returns and improving water quality for the farming systems and watershed evaluated in this study.     

排污总量控制的最优化原则探讨

从环境经济学的最优化原则出发，对上海市推行的排污总量控制，超量排污罚款和对允许排放量限度内的排污征收生态环境补偿费进行了论述。根据最优化原则，污染物排放总量应该设置在最佳污染物排放量点，并且不同的河段应该设置相应的允许排放量；单位超量排污罚款价格不可过低，并且应该随着超量排污的增长而增加，以一个合适的费率征收生态环境补偿费会促使企业不断改进它的污染物治理技术，从而减少对水体的污染。因此，这三才是将     

城市土地集约利用研究进展

城市土地集约利用是城市土地利用变化研究的重要内容之一。了解城市土地集约利用的机理、过程和效应,有助于优化城市土地利用空间结构,提高城市土地利用效率,缓解资源环境约束带给城市发展的压力以及促进城市可持续发展。文章从3个方面对国内外城市土地集约利用研究进行了梳理和总结:①研究尺度,包括空间尺度和时间尺度;②研究内容,包括城市土地集约利用的内涵和相关理论、集约利用评价、集约利用驱动机制、集约利用效应、集约利用途径;③研究方法,包括统计分析和计量分析方法、基于过程的动态模型方法、GIS空间分析方法和其他研究方法。最后对其未来的发展方向提出了一些建议,认为在研究尺度上,应加强多尺度、多层次、时间序列的研究;在研究内容上,应加强基础理论、机理、过程和效应的研究;在研究方法上,应加强计量分析、空间分析和动态模型应用。     

以经济学实验研究处罚机制对排污收费政策执行的影响

为研究处罚机制对排污收费政策执行效果的影响,建立了排污收费政策下风险中性企业的最优决策模型,设计了经济学实验.采用数据统计、线性随机效应模型、单因素不等重复实验方差分析等方法分析实验数据,验证了该模型得出的假设.结果表明,边际处罚期望对于企业的违法量和排放量决策均有显著负影响;企业边际减排成本对于企业的排放量决策有显著正影响,对于违法量决策没有显著影响;相同边际处罚期望下,监测频率越高,企业的服从率越高,且在边际处罚期望较高时,更为明显.因此,提高边际处罚期望可同时改善企业违法行为与促进企业减排.同时,为降低执行成本,在边际处罚期望较低时,可首先将线性罚款向梯级罚款转变.当边际处罚期望上升到较高水平时,则应注重监测频率的提高,并应重点监控那些排污量大而不是边际减排成本高的企业.     

Policy context as a factor of bias in the valuation of environmental goods – a dual-process theories perspective

When ecosystem services value estimates are applied in the economic assessment of environmental policies, high accuracy of these estimates is required. One of the directions in the scientific discussion on biases in stated preference (SP) valuation surveys builds on dual-process theories of judgment. The paper contributes to this literature by presenting an experiment where two types of judgment were induced via separate versus joint valuation of environmental goods. The results demonstrated that policy relevance of environmental issues, e.g. the need for conservation measures increases emotional response, causing a larger bias in the separate design as it involves ‘valuation by feeling.’ This finding suggests that the context of a specific policy, which is often the reason for conducting SP surveys, influences the answers, thereby making the results less reliable for use in cost–benefit analysis.     

The Effects of Irrigation and Climate on the High Plains Aquifer: A County‐Level Econometric Analysis

The High Plains Aquifer (HPA) underlies parts of eight states and 208 counties in the central area of the United States (U.S.). This region produces more than 9% of U.S. crops sales and relies on the aquifer for irrigation. However, these withdrawals have diminished the stock of water in the aquifer. In this paper, we investigate the aggregate county‐level effect on the HPA of groundwater withdrawal for irrigation, of climate variables, and of energy price changes. We merge economic theory and hydrological characteristics to jointly estimate equations describing irrigation behavior and a generalized water balance equation for the HPA. Our simple water balance model predicts, at average values for irrigation and precipitation, an HPA‐wide average decrease in the groundwater table of 0.47 feet per year, compared to 0.48 feet per year observed on average across the HPA during this 1985–2005 period. The observed distribution and predicted change across counties is in the (?3.22, 1.59) and (?2.24, 0.60) feet per year range, respectively. The estimated impact of irrigation is to decrease the water table by an average of 1.24 feet per year, whereas rainfall recharges the level by an average of 0.76 feet per year. Relative to the past several decades, if groundwater use is unconstrained, groundwater depletion would increase 50% in a scenario where precipitation falls by 25% and the number of degree days above 36°C doubles. Editor’s note : This paper is part of the featured series on Optimizing Ogallala Aquifer Water Use to Sustain Food Systems. See the February 2019 issue for the introduction and background to the series.     

Maximizing Returns from Payments for Water‐Based Ecosystem Services: Incorporating Externality Effects of Land Management

Given the expansion of payments for water‐based ecosystem services (PWES) worldwide, two relevant issues are as follows: (1) determination of efficient allocations of payments among land managers, and (2) how this might change when paying one manager to implement a best management practice (BMP) to enhance an ecosystem service impacts the cost‐effectiveness of BMPs considered by other land managers not currently involved in PWES. Such externalities may be negative if diminishing returns dominate, or positive if mechanisms such as “social diffusion” dominate. We analyze how a planner should optimally allocate payments, depending on whether the expected externalities are negligible, negative, or positive. We employ (1) an optimal control model to gain insights on the problem’s dynamics, and (2) stochastic dynamic programming to determine optimal funding strategies using a specific application. The study contributes to the literature by identifying dynamically optimal PWES payment patterns, and illustrates how they should change when one accounts for externalities induced by the program. Because such impacts have not been addressed previously in a rigorous way, this treatment provides useful value added for PWES design and implementation.     

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.     

The market and shadow value of informal fish catch: a framework and application to Panama

Fisheries catches are known to be widely underreported, and much of their value flows in informal markets. Goods and services that are not directly sold in a market also have a corresponding economic value, here termed ‘shadow value’, which can apply to discarded fish—or those that are consumed but not sold (e.g., subsistence catches). Here, we estimate the monetary value of fisheries catches in Panama that are landed but not reported, or that are discarded at sea; this includes catches from artisanal and industrial fleets, as well as recreational and subsistence fisheries. Based on available data, we estimate that the market and shadow value of unreported catches in Panama in 2010 was around US$92 million, equal to approximately 43% of the total reported landed value. In the case of discarded fish, the shadow value represents the potential but entirely unrealized economic benefit of landing such fish; in the case of unreported landings, unreported market value represents only the first link in the potentially sophisticated informal seafood economy. One must be careful in considering these results for policy. It is possible that, rather than seeking to capture these ‘lost’ benefits, fish that are discarded or unreported should not have been caught at all, for example, if they are juveniles or of threatened species; conversely, unreported subsistence catches are crucial for food security throughout the world. These results help contextualize the scale of unreported fisheries in economic terms, and can inform subsequent policies and strategies to ensure social, ecological, and economic sustainability.