Assessment of groundwater contamination by nitrate leaching from intensive vegetable cultivation using geographical information system

This study employed the Geographical Information System (GIS) technology to investigate nitrate contamination of groundwater by agrochemical fertilizers in the Kakamigahara Heights, Gifu Prefecture, central Japan. Thematic information and chemical data of groundwater from the Heights were analyzed in a GIS environment to study the extent and variation of nitrate contamination and to establish spatial relationships with responsible land use types. The high and correlated concentrations of Ca(2+), Mg(2+), SO(4)(2-), and NO(3)(-) reflected the polluted nature of the unconfined highly permeable Kakamigahara aquifer. Ninety percent of the water samples showed nitrate concentrations above the human affected value (3 mg/l NO(3)(-)), while more than 30% have exceeded the maximum acceptable level (44 mg/l NO(3)(-)) according to Japan regulations. The spatial analyses indicated that groundwater contamination by nitrate is closely associated with one specific land use class, the "vegetable fields". The nitrate concentration of groundwater under vegetable fields was significantly higher than that under urban land or paddy fields. Most of the unacceptable nitrate levels were encountered in boreholes assigned to "vegetable fields" but a few were also found in boreholes allotted to "urban" class. Therefore, the vegetable fields were considered the principal source of nitrate contamination of groundwater in the Kakamigahara. However, contamination from urban sources is also possible.     

Assessing the Impact of Carbon Tax Differentiation in the European Union

To what extent do the welfare costs associated with the implementation of the Burden Sharing Agreement in the European Union depend on sectoral allocation of emissions rights? What are the prospects for strategic climate policy to favor domestic production? This paper attempts to answer those questions using a CGE model featuring a detailed representation of the European economies. First, numerical simulations show that equalizing marginal abatement costs across domestic sectors greatly reduces the burden of the emissions constraint but also that other allocations may be preferable for some countries because of pre-existing tax distortions. Second, we show that the effect of a single country's attempt to undertake a strategic policy to limit impacts on its domestic energy-intensive industries has mixed effects. Exempting energy-intensive industries from the reduction program is a costly solution to maintain the international competitiveness of these industries; a tax-cum-subsidy approach is shown to be better than exemption policy to sustain exports. The welfare impact either policy – exemption or subsidy – on other European countries is likely to be small because of general equilibrium effects.