SABIIA - Sistema Aberto e Integrado de Informação em Agricultura (Sabiia)

Sousa, Carlos; Centre for Marine and Environmental Research - CIMA; cssousa@ualg.pt; Boski, Tomasz; Centre for Marine and Environmental Research - CIMA; tboski@ualg.pt; Ponce Dentinho, Tomaz; Office for Sustainable Regional Developement - GDRS; tomazdentinho@uac.pt.

Tourism related to bathing has a growing economic importance in the Guadiana Estuary in southern Spain and Portugal. Polls of local public opinion showed an awareness of potential and current threats to the aquatic environment posed by regulation of river flow and untreated/poorly-treated urban sewage discharge. Because of this strong concern for water quality, it was selected as the policy issue for our application of the Systems Approach Framework (SAF). We developed an integrated simulation model of the Guadiana estuarine system in which the ecological system and socioeconomic components are linked by means of beach eco-label (Blue Flag Award) through its dependence on fecal bacterial thresholds. We quantified the socioeconomic impacts of water quality...

Tipo: Peer-Reviewed Reports

Palavras-chave: Blue flag award; Cost-benefit analysis; Economic base model; Guadiana estuary; Systems approach; Tourism; Water quality.

Ano: 2012

The Kyoto Protocol Is Cost-effective

Gatto, Marino; Politecnico di Milano; gatto@elet.polimi.it; Caizzi, Andrea; CESI, Business Unit Ambiente; caizzi@cesi.it; Rizzi, Luca; CESI, Business Unit Ambiente; rizziluca@virgilio.it; De Leo, Giulio A; Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione dell' Ambiente; deleo@dsa.unipr.it.

Despite recent advances, there is a high degree of uncertainty concerning the climate change that would result from increasing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. Also, opponents of the Kyoto Protocol raised the key objection that reducing emissions would impose an unacceptable economic burden on businesses and consumers. Based on an analysis of alternative scenarios for electricity generation in Italy, we show that if the costs in terms of damage to human health, material goods, agriculture, and the environment caused by greenhouse gas emissions are included in the balance, the economic argument against Kyoto is untenable. Most importantly, the argument holds true even if we exclude global external costs (those due to global warming), and account...

Tipo: Peer-Reviewed Reports

Palavras-chave: Cost-benefit analysis; Electric power generation; Environmental costs; Externalities; Greenhouse gasses; Italian economic impacts; Kyoto Protocol.

Ano: 2002

Zebra Mussel Farming in the Szczecin (Oder) Lagoon: Water-Quality Objectives and Cost-Effectiveness

Schernewski, Gerald; Leibniz-Institute for Baltic Sea Research; schernewski@eucc-d.de; Stybel, Nardine; EUCC - The Coastal Union Germany; stybel@eucc-d.de; Neumann, Thomas; Leibniz-Institute for Baltic Sea Research; thomas.neumann@io-warnemuende.de.

The Oder (Szczecin) Lagoon in the southern Baltic Sea is a heavily eutrophicated and degraded coastal ecosystem. We applied a systems approach framework to critically evaluate whether existing water-management measures achieve water-quality objectives for the river and lagoon systems. Our simulations reveal that the existing water-quality objectives for the river and the coastal waters are not sufficiently complementary. We suggest new water-quality threshold concentrations, which are in agreement with the European Water Framework Directive, and we calculate acceptable maximum nutrient loads for the Oder River. These calculations suggest that external nutrient-load reductions in the river basin alone seem insufficient to achieve good water quality in the...

Tipo: Peer-Reviewed Reports

Palavras-chave: Baltic Sea Action Plan; Coastal ecosystem; Cost-benefit analysis; ERGOM; Eutrophication; Marginal costs; Mussel farming; Nitrogen; Oder Lagoon; Oder River; Phosphorus; Szczecin Lagoon; Water Framework Directive; Water management; Water quality; Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha).

Ano: 2012

Uncertainty in Discount Models and Environmental Accounting

Ludwig, Donald; University of British Columbia; Ludwig@math.ubc.ca; Brock, William A.; University of Wisconsin-Madison; WBrock@ssc.wisc.edu; Carpenter, Stephen R; University of Wisconsin-Madison; srcarpen@wisc.edu.

Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is controversial for environmental issues, but is nevertheless employed by many governments and private organizations for making environmental decisions. Controversy centers on the practice of economic discounting in CBA for decisions that have substantial long-term consequences, as do most environmental decisions. Customarily, economic discounting has been calculated at a constant exponential rate, a practice that weights the present heavily in comparison with the future. Recent analyses of economic data show that the assumption of constant exponential discounting should be modified to take into account large uncertainties in long-term discount rates. A proper treatment of this uncertainty requires that we consider returns...

Tipo: Peer-Reviewed Insight

Palavras-chave: Atlantic right whale; Cost-benefit analysis; Discounting; Ecological economics; Ecosystem service; Eutrophication; Renewable resource; Uncertainty.

Ano: 2005

An adaptable toolkit to assess commercial fishery costs and benefits related to marine protected area network design

ArchiMer

Daigle, Rémi M.; Monaco, Cristian; Elgin, Ashley K..

Around the world, governments are establishing Marine Protected Area (MPA) networks to meet their commitments to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. MPAs are often used in an effort to conserve biodiversity and manage fisheries stocks. However, their efficacy and effect on fisheries yields remain unclear. We conducted a case-study on the economic impact of different MPA network design strategies on the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) fisheries in Canada. The open-source R package that we developed to analyze this case study can be customized to conduct similar analyses for other systems. We used a spatially-explicit individual-based model of population growth and dispersal coupled with a fisheries management and harvesting component. We...

Tipo: Text

Palavras-chave: Cost-benefit analysis; Atlantic Cod; Individual based models; Conservation; Fisheries management.

Ano: 2017

URL: https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00690/80169/83235.pdf

A bioeconomic analysis of the impact of decommissioning programs: Application to a limited-entry french scallop fishery

ArchiMer

Guyader, Olivier; Daures, Fabienne; Fifas, Spyros.

The objective of this paper is to assess the benefits and costs of decommissioning policies aimed at reducing fleet capacity through premiums offered by the public authority to fishermen to scrap their vessels. A case study, the limited entry scallop fishery of the Saint Brieuc Bay, France, is used to con- sider the problem of excess capacity and to model the bioeconomic consequences of disinvestment behavior. Special attention is paid to the assessment of fishermen's willingness to leave the fishery and to the implementation of public policy in terms of budget level and premiums offered to the fishermen. Spreadsheet simulations show that the impact of decommissioning programs is positive in terms of net surplus, even in the case of increasing technical...

Tipo: Text

Palavras-chave: Fishing capacity; Decommissioning programs; Premium; Willingness to leave; Bioeconomic model; Cost-benefit analysis.

Ano: 2004

URL: https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00243/35449/33977.pdf

The efficiency of using remote sensing for fisheries enforcement:Application to the Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery

ArchiMer

Cicuendez Perez, Juan; Alvarez, Marlene Alvarez; Heikkonen, Jukka; Guillen Garcia, Jordi; Barbas, Thomas.

This paper analyzes the impact of applying vessel detection technology using satellite images (vessel detection system, VDS) to complement air patrols for fisheries enforcement and control. Due to limited fisheries enforcement budgets there is the need to allocate costs efficiently among competing control tools. This paper focuses on assessing the benefits of using VDS jointly with VMS (vessel monitoring system) and air patrol surveillance to improve effectiveness of controls. A statistical model to estimate the number of inspections was developed and was used with enforcement costs data as reported by a number of EU countries. The result of applying VDS in fisheries enforcement is presented in one of the most demanding fisheries enforcement contexts: the...

Tipo: Text

Palavras-chave: Vessel detection system; Synthetic Aperture Radar; Illegal fishing; Cost-benefit analysis; Bluefin tuna.

Ano: 2013

URL: http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00141/25205/23389.pdf

Social Benefits of Multifunctional Agriculture in Finland

Yrjola, Tapani; Kola, Jukka.

This study aims at assessing the costs and benefits of multifunctional agriculture, and it is one of the very first studies using a quantitative approach to this new subject. The starting point is that if current farm subsidies are regarded as means to maintain the multifunctional characteristics of agriculture, what happens if subsidies are reduced. The effects of the decline in agricultural support on multifunctional characteristics of agriculture in Finland are estimated using the cost-benefit analysis (CBA). Only a part of the consequences can be assessed by the CBA due to lack of data on the economic value of many elements of multifunctional agriculture. Hence, the results should not be generalised too strongly, but they still provide useful...

Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation

Palavras-chave: Multifunctional agriculture; Non-market benefits; Externalities; Cost-benefit analysis; Finland; Institutional and Behavioral Economics.

Ano: 2002

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/24812

TRACEABILITY AND CERTIFICATION IN MEAT SUPPLY CHAINS

Meuwissen, Miranda P.M.; Velthuis, Annet G.J.; Hogeveen, Henk; Huirne, Ruud B.M..

Food safety problems such as the BSE and dioxin crises focused attention on traceability systems and the certification of such systems. This study analyzes the status and perspectives of traceability systems and certification schemes, and reviews their potential costs and benefits. Results indicate that traceability and certification in meat supply chains comprise a very dynamic area with an increasing impact. Necessary transparency, control of livestock epidemics, increasing due diligence, and a declining role for governments are critical factors. Findings also reveal there is a general focus on the technical characteristics of traceability and certification, and there is a lack of economic considerations. Therefore, specific topics are emphasized for an...

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Certification; Cost-benefit analysis; Livestock production; Supply chain; Traceability; Industrial Organization; Livestock Production/Industries.

Ano: 2003

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/14666

The Role of Health Risk Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis in Environmental Decision Making in Selected Countries: An Initial Survey

Mazurek, Janice V..

This paper seeks to inform the current "regulatory reform" effort in the U.S. by describing how information from risk assessments and cost-benefit analyses is used by decision makers in six other industrialized countries. In Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Canada and the European Union decision makers deal with uncertainties associated with risk assessments differently than in the U.S. They are less likely to employ "default assumptions" to bridge uncertainties and instead tailor risk evaluations to the chemical in question. Furthermore, while U.S. agencies are sometimes required to pair information from risk assessments with data from cost-benefit analyses in order to estimate how much it costs to stem or avert environmental and health...

Protecting the Booroolong Frog in the Namoi Catchment: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

Palavras-chave: Regulatory reform; Risk assessment; Cost-benefit analysis; International environmental; Regulation; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q28.

Ano: 1996

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10475

Greyling, Tertius; Bennett, Jeffrey W..

The Booroolong frog project in the Namoi Catchment represents an environmental investment to protect the species and around 10.7 kilometres of its habitat in the catchment. The project’s benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 8.6 indicates that the benefits outweigh the costs by a significant margin. The measures introduced by landholders, at relatively low cost, should therefore result in a significant return on investment upon project completion in 10 years time. The benefits are estimated using a choice modelling study which was recently developed for the valuation of investment in natural resource management in the Namoi Catchment. As this is a largely ex ante cost-benefit analysis, the BCR is subject to uncertainty associated with assumptions which had to be...

Tipo: Report

Palavras-chave: Cost-benefit analysis; Benefit-cost ratio; Choice modelling; Booroolong Frog; Namoi Catchment; Environmental Economics and Policy; Research Methods/ Statistical Methods.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/107851

Sustainable Decision-making: The State of the Art from an Economics Perspective

Toman, Michael.

Government, corporate and other decision makers are more and more often being urged to 'act sustainably' and to pursue policy paths toward 'sustainable development.' However, application of these concepts is hampered by serious interdisciplinary disagreements about the interactions of humans with their environment. Moreover, reducing disagreements about sustainability cannot be achieved solely through an improvement in scientific knowledge. These observations lead me to express skepticism about the capacity of any more or less mechanistic rule, economic, scientific or otherwise, to provide definitive and reliable answers about sustainable policies or conduct. However, there are processes and procedures that can help guide decision-making. I underscore the...

Intel's XL Permit: A Framework for Evaluation

Palavras-chave: Sustainable development; Cost-benefit analysis; Intergenerational equity; Multicriteria analysis; Social values; Institutional and Behavioral Economics; A12; A13; B41; D61; D63; H43; Q28.

Ano: 1998

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10602

Boyd, James; Krupnick, Alan J.; Mazurek, Janice V..

The paper develops a framework to evaluate permits granted to firms under the Environmental Protection Agency's Project XL -- with emphasis on the novel air permit granted to the Intel Corporation. We describe the permit, the process that created it, and the types of costs and benefits likely to arise from this type of "facility-specific" regulatory arrangement. Among other things, the paper describes the permit's impact on environmental quality, production costs, transaction costs, and Intel's strategic market position. The paper also considers how an estimate of the costs and benefits -- both to Intel and society -- might be estimated. While facility-specific regulation typically conjures images of production cost savings as processes are re-engineered...

The Paparazzi Take a Look at a Living Legend: The SO2 Cap-and-Trade Program for Power Plants in the United States

Palavras-chave: Project XL; Tailored regulation; Environmental regulation; Cost-benefit analysis; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; L51; Q28; L63; K32.

Ano: 1998

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10666

Burtraw, Dallas; Palmer, Karen L..

For years economists have urged policymakers to use market-based approaches such as cap-and-trade programs or emission taxes to control pollution. The SO2 allowance market created by Title IV of the 1990 U.S. Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) presents the first real test of the wisdom of economists' advice. This paper provides an overview of the origins, design, and performance of the U.S. acid rain program, and an analysis of its specific features and its adaptability as a model for addressing other pollution problems, such as control of NOX or CO2 emissions. The program also has resulted in innovation through changes in organizational technology, in the organization of markets, and through experimentation at individual boilers, much of which arguably would...

The Costs and Benefits of Reducing Acid Rain

Palavras-chave: Emission trading; Cap and trade; Air pollution; Cost-benefit analysis; Electricity; Particulates; Sulfur dioxide; SO2; Health benefits; Acid rain; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q25; Q4; D62; Q28.

Ano: 2003

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10665

Burtraw, Dallas; Krupnick, Alan J.; Mansur, Erin T.; Austin, David H.; Farrell, Deirdre.

Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments initiated a dramatic reduction in emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides by electric power plants. This paper presents the results of an integrated assessment of the benefits and costs of the program, using the Tracking and Analysis Framework (TAF) developed for the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP). Although dramatic uncertainties characterize our estimates especially with respect to the benefits of the program, many of which we have modeled explicitly, we find that the benefits can be expected to substantially outweigh the costs of the emission reductions. The lion's share of benefits result from reduced risk of premature mortality, especially through reduced exposure to...

Controlling Ozone and Fine Particulates: Cost Benefit Analysis with Meteorological Variability

Palavras-chave: Acid rain; Sulfur dioxide; Nitrogen oxides; Cost-benefit analysis; Clean Air Act; Title IV; Environmental Economics and Policy; H43; Q2; Q4.

Ano: 1997

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10692

Shih, Jhih-Shyang; Bergin, Michelle S.; Krupnick, Alan J.; Russell, Armistead G..

In this paper, we develop an integrated cost-benefit analysis framework for ozone and fine particulate control, accounting for variability and uncertainty. The framework includes air quality simulation, sensitivity analysis, stochastic multi-objective air quality management, and stochastic cost-benefit analysis. This paper has two major contributions. The first is the development of stochastic source-receptor (S-R) coefficient matrices for ozone and fine particulate matter using an advanced air quality simulation model (URM-1ATM) and an efficient sensitivity algorithm (DDM-3D). The second is a demonstration of this framework for alternative ozone and PM2.5 reduction policies. Alternative objectives of the stochastic air quality management model include...

Cost-benefit analysis of investment in research on abscission chemicals

Palavras-chave: Ambient air; Ozone; Particulate matter; Risk management; Public policy; Cost-benefit analysis; Variability and uncertainty; Stochastic simulation; Stochastic multi-objective programming; Decision-making; National Ambient Air Quality Standards; Environmental Economics and Policy; C6; Q2; Q25; Q28.

Ano: 2003

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10735

Cost-Benefit Analysis of the protection of Malleefowl in the Lachlan Catchment

Brown, Mark G..

Tipo: Report

Palavras-chave: Cost-benefit analysis; Abscission chemicals; Agribusiness; Farm Management.

Ano: 2001

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/52887