I'm traveling to University of Exeter, UK to participate in a meeting regarding a multinational project titled "The Future of Reefs in a Changing Environment".
The working group that I'm involved with is livelihoods and coral reefs. PhD student David Gill (with Prof. Hazel Oxenford and yours truly) will be conducting economic valuation research regarding extractive and non-extractive values of reef fish in the Caribbean.
How might understanding the relative values of extractive uses (fishing) and non-extractive uses (snorkeling and diving) be useful to inform policy?
Friday, September 10, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Biodiversity as a global public good
The following excerpt is from an article recently published in the journal Science (one of the most widely read and prestigious science journals in the world). The numbers in parentheses are citations from the article. I can list those for you if you're interested.
Citation: "Biodiversity Conservation: Challenges Beyond 2010", Michael R. Rands et al., Science, 329, 1298, 2010.
"To address the continued global loss of biodiversity, we propose the pursuit of three interconnecting priorities: (i) to manage biodiversity as a public good, (ii) to integrate biodiversity into public and private decision-making, and (iii) to create enabling conditions for policy implementation."
"Managing biodiversity as a public good. An appreciation of biodiversity as a public good (65)
and of its economic value (66) is, we believe, central to future effective conservation. Biodiversity loss is rarely the intended consequence of human actions; more often it is an unintended side effect of decisions taken for other reasons—an economic “externality” (67). Biodiversity is a special kind of externality, as the impacts of a particular action are often distant in space and time (e.g., local rainforest loss may affect the global carbon cycle, with consequences for future generations). This makes effective regulation difficult, as no single body has jurisdiction over the world’s biodiversity. It also makes transaction based
solutions difficult, because those who damage biodiversity are often widely separated, in
space or time, from those who experience the consequences. Actors have few incentives or opportunities to change their behavior, whether they are small holder households planning their annual agricultural cycles or large multinational companies determining their corporate priorities. Thus, understanding and managing biodiversity as a global public good,which must be provided through conscious collective choices (68), is fundamental to achieving its conservation (5). "
"The recognition of biodiversity as a public good is not a new concept, and in recent years
economists have made substantial progress in developing valuation techniques that quantify the local and global benefits of biodiversity (69). Measuring the economic values of biodiversity (5) and estimating spatially explicit economic values of services across landscapes to inform management decisions (70) are vital. However, making these values explicit is insufficient to bring about a change in behavior, unless supporting public policies are in place that either reward positive individual actions or penalize harm. Economists need to work more closely with conservationists and policy makers to develop intervention strategies
that shift individual actors toward more biodiversity-friendly behavior, using regulatory
devices as well as incentives, thereby securing the provision of biodiversity conservation as a
global public good. "
"Integrating biodiversity into public and private decision-making. The value of biodiversity
must be made an integral element of social, economic, and political decision-making, as is starting to happen with carbon and climate change. Government, businesses, and civil society
all have crucial roles in this transition. For government, maintenance of stocks of natural capital must become an explicit, accountable, and implemented element of policy. Concern
for biodiversity cannot be restricted to a nation’s environmentministry but must extend
across all sectors of government, such as treasury, industry, and defense. Policy change will require clear and cost-effective metrics of natural capital consumption and depletion (71) and the development of systems of public accounts that include both sustainability (72) and the specific issue of biodiversity loss (5). Government staff and politicians may need in-service training in biodiversity science and ecological economics, with effective research support. Research investment will need to focus on applied transdisciplinary problems. Government will need to remove perverse subsidies detrimental to biodiversity, such as in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. Fishing subsidies encourage overexploitation of two-thirds of fish stocks across the globe, threatening both the fishing industry (worth $80 billion to $100 billion per year) and the 27 million people dependent on it (5, 73). Government policy needs to integrate biodiversity conservation, poverty alleviation, and the demands of a sustainable
economy (74) to meet the Millennium Development Goals (75)."
There's a lot of stuff here related to our class. Personally I was really excited to this in Science, as these are messages that colleagues and I have been trying to deliver for a long time.
Anyone care to attempt a summary sentence or two?
Citation: "Biodiversity Conservation: Challenges Beyond 2010", Michael R. Rands et al., Science, 329, 1298, 2010.
"To address the continued global loss of biodiversity, we propose the pursuit of three interconnecting priorities: (i) to manage biodiversity as a public good, (ii) to integrate biodiversity into public and private decision-making, and (iii) to create enabling conditions for policy implementation."
"Managing biodiversity as a public good. An appreciation of biodiversity as a public good (65)
and of its economic value (66) is, we believe, central to future effective conservation. Biodiversity loss is rarely the intended consequence of human actions; more often it is an unintended side effect of decisions taken for other reasons—an economic “externality” (67). Biodiversity is a special kind of externality, as the impacts of a particular action are often distant in space and time (e.g., local rainforest loss may affect the global carbon cycle, with consequences for future generations). This makes effective regulation difficult, as no single body has jurisdiction over the world’s biodiversity. It also makes transaction based
solutions difficult, because those who damage biodiversity are often widely separated, in
space or time, from those who experience the consequences. Actors have few incentives or opportunities to change their behavior, whether they are small holder households planning their annual agricultural cycles or large multinational companies determining their corporate priorities. Thus, understanding and managing biodiversity as a global public good,which must be provided through conscious collective choices (68), is fundamental to achieving its conservation (5). "
"The recognition of biodiversity as a public good is not a new concept, and in recent years
economists have made substantial progress in developing valuation techniques that quantify the local and global benefits of biodiversity (69). Measuring the economic values of biodiversity (5) and estimating spatially explicit economic values of services across landscapes to inform management decisions (70) are vital. However, making these values explicit is insufficient to bring about a change in behavior, unless supporting public policies are in place that either reward positive individual actions or penalize harm. Economists need to work more closely with conservationists and policy makers to develop intervention strategies
that shift individual actors toward more biodiversity-friendly behavior, using regulatory
devices as well as incentives, thereby securing the provision of biodiversity conservation as a
global public good. "
"Integrating biodiversity into public and private decision-making. The value of biodiversity
must be made an integral element of social, economic, and political decision-making, as is starting to happen with carbon and climate change. Government, businesses, and civil society
all have crucial roles in this transition. For government, maintenance of stocks of natural capital must become an explicit, accountable, and implemented element of policy. Concern
for biodiversity cannot be restricted to a nation’s environment
across all sectors of government, such as treasury, industry, and defense. Policy change will require clear and cost-effective metrics of natural capital consumption and depletion (71) and the development of systems of public accounts that include both sustainability (72) and the specific issue of biodiversity loss (5). Government staff and politicians may need in-service training in biodiversity science and ecological economics, with effective research support. Research investment will need to focus on applied transdisciplinary problems. Government will need to remove perverse subsidies detrimental to biodiversity, such as in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. Fishing subsidies encourage overexploitation of two-thirds of fish stocks across the globe, threatening both the fishing industry (worth $80 billion to $100 billion per year) and the 27 million people dependent on it (5, 73). Government policy needs to integrate biodiversity conservation, poverty alleviation, and the demands of a sustainable
economy (74) to meet the Millennium Development Goals (75)."
There's a lot of stuff here related to our class. Personally I was really excited to this in Science, as these are messages that colleagues and I have been trying to deliver for a long time.
Anyone care to attempt a summary sentence or two?
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Lots of small MPAs better than one big one?
From Rueters: A new UN study suggests that a network of small marine protected areas may be more effective than few big MPAs.
First, what is the basic economic problem here? That is, why do we need MPAs in the first place?
What type of solution (command-and-control or incentives) would we classify marine protected areas as?
What problems arise with MPAs?
What are the goals of an MPA? Are most MPAs reaching those goals?
Read about MPA effectiveness here and here.
Here is an excellent article from Resources for the Future on the economic and social implications of MPAs.
Here is an informative site from NOAA regarding economics and MPAs.
First, what is the basic economic problem here? That is, why do we need MPAs in the first place?
What type of solution (command-and-control or incentives) would we classify marine protected areas as?
What problems arise with MPAs?
What are the goals of an MPA? Are most MPAs reaching those goals?
Read about MPA effectiveness here and here.
Here is an excellent article from Resources for the Future on the economic and social implications of MPAs.
Here is an informative site from NOAA regarding economics and MPAs.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Welcome CERMES students
Starting this week 17 graduate students at the Center for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) University of the West Indies-Cave Hill will be joining our blog.
These students hail from 8 different countries (Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Nigeria, St. Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and the U.S.). Welcome to the blog!
CERMES students - we started class here about 2 weeks ago, so you'll see some blog posts and comments. Feel free to join those conversations if you find them of interest.
Some blog topics will be US-centric, some will pertain to the Caribbean and some will be international in scope ... I do hope that everyone contributes to the discussion regardless of the context.
These students hail from 8 different countries (Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Nigeria, St. Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and the U.S.). Welcome to the blog!
CERMES students - we started class here about 2 weeks ago, so you'll see some blog posts and comments. Feel free to join those conversations if you find them of interest.
Some blog topics will be US-centric, some will pertain to the Caribbean and some will be international in scope ... I do hope that everyone contributes to the discussion regardless of the context.
standards
Today in class I mentioned ambient air quality standards under the Clean Air Act.
Click here to view the standards.
Basic CAA info here.
We also talked about CAFE standards.
Read about those here and here.
Here's a simple example illustrating the Coase Theorem (published in 1960 by the way) from Thayer Watkins at San Jose State.
More on Coase here and an interesting discussion at Freakonomics from '07.
Click here to view the standards.
Basic CAA info here.
We also talked about CAFE standards.
Read about those here and here.
Here's a simple example illustrating the Coase Theorem (published in 1960 by the way) from Thayer Watkins at San Jose State.
More on Coase here and an interesting discussion at Freakonomics from '07.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Pigou
Today we'll be talking about externalities.
Alfred Marshall first introduced the concept.
A.C. Pigou (a student of Marshall's) proposed a solution.
Alfred Marshall first introduced the concept.
A.C. Pigou (a student of Marshall's) proposed a solution.
An interesting solution to an invasive species problem
Invasive species can cause serious harm to ecosystems, often out-competing native species.
The economic and biological damage can be significant.
Invasive species can be considered biological pollution and as such we can use externality theory to frame and study the issue. When we get to the topic of solutions, we can also consider addressing invasive species with standards and incentives.
Here's a short article from ENN regarding lion fish and a cool solution ... eat them! I've never eaten lion fish myself (I had one in an aquarium when I was in college), but a student that I had in the Caribbean tells me they're delicious.
Other examples? Other notable solutions?
The economic and biological damage can be significant.
Invasive species can be considered biological pollution and as such we can use externality theory to frame and study the issue. When we get to the topic of solutions, we can also consider addressing invasive species with standards and incentives.
Here's a short article from ENN regarding lion fish and a cool solution ... eat them! I've never eaten lion fish myself (I had one in an aquarium when I was in college), but a student that I had in the Caribbean tells me they're delicious.
Other examples? Other notable solutions?
Friday, August 27, 2010
Coal ash and water pollution
A version of this story from USA Today appeared in today's local paper.
A new study suggests that damages from coal ash pollution are worse than we thought. The results are timely as the US EPA is about to begin a series of regional hearings on whether and how to regulate coal ash waste from coal-fired power plants.
Things to think about:
1. The negative externality. Is this a production externality or a consumption externality? Who are the market participants here? Who is on the demand side and who is on the supply side? Who is the third party affected by the externality? Have the health effects been qualified or quantified? Monetized?
2. Standards for pollution control. We'll get to the study of standards soon. For now, consider how and why EPA is considering restrictions. In terms of the 'how', Are limits (standards) on output or limits on technology being proposed? What should be the basis for the determination of acceptable standards? Health? Efficiency? Something else?
3. What are some important research questions related to this issue that would help inform policy?
Related local news here.
A new study suggests that damages from coal ash pollution are worse than we thought. The results are timely as the US EPA is about to begin a series of regional hearings on whether and how to regulate coal ash waste from coal-fired power plants.
Things to think about:
1. The negative externality. Is this a production externality or a consumption externality? Who are the market participants here? Who is on the demand side and who is on the supply side? Who is the third party affected by the externality? Have the health effects been qualified or quantified? Monetized?
2. Standards for pollution control. We'll get to the study of standards soon. For now, consider how and why EPA is considering restrictions. In terms of the 'how', Are limits (standards) on output or limits on technology being proposed? What should be the basis for the determination of acceptable standards? Health? Efficiency? Something else?
3. What are some important research questions related to this issue that would help inform policy?
Related local news here.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Opportunity costs
Ah yes, one of the first things you learned in economics: opportunity costs are real and affect our decisions.
Here are links to a few articles illustrating a common (though often flawed) theme: "The economy vs. the environment":
From Freakonomics: Two economists suggest that consideration for the environment wanes during times of high unemployment.
From ABC: A March 2010 Gallup poll shows a similar trade off.
From Reuters: It's not all bad news... people create less pollution during economic downturns.
Thoughts? Can you think of micro-level examples of this (i.e household, individual, firm)?
Here are links to a few articles illustrating a common (though often flawed) theme: "The economy vs. the environment":
From Freakonomics: Two economists suggest that consideration for the environment wanes during times of high unemployment.
From ABC: A March 2010 Gallup poll shows a similar trade off.
From Reuters: It's not all bad news... people create less pollution during economic downturns.
Thoughts? Can you think of micro-level examples of this (i.e household, individual, firm)?
Friday, August 20, 2010
Welcome!
Welcome to the blog.
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Then simply type your comment in the dialogue box where it says "leave your comment".
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Please be sure to leave your full name so that you can earn proper credit for your contributions.
To comment to a post, simply click on the words "Post a comment" at the bottom of the post.
Then simply type your comment in the dialogue box where it says "leave your comment".
If you have a google account, you can use that user name or you can post anonymously.
Please be sure to leave your full name so that you can earn proper credit for your contributions.
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