Author:

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published:

Total Pages: 60

ISBN-13: 1428907742

DOWNLOAD EBOOK


Economic Valuation of Environmental Benefits and the Targeting of Conservation Programs

Economic Valuation of Environmental Benefits and the Targeting of Conservation Programs

Author: Peter Feather

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 60

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The range of environmental problems confronting agriculture has expanded in recent years. As the largest program designed to mitigate the negative environmental effects of agriculture, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has broadened its initial focus on reductions in soil erosion to consider other landscape factors that may also be beneficial. For example, preserving habitats can help protect wildlife, thus leading to more nature-viewing opportunities. This report demonstrates how nonmarket valuation models can be used in targeting conservation programs such as the CRP.


Perspectives on Biodiversity

Perspectives on Biodiversity

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1999-10-01

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 030906581X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Resource-management decisions, especially in the area of protecting and maintaining biodiversity, are usually incremental, limited in time by the ability to forecast conditions and human needs, and the result of tradeoffs between conservation and other management goals. The individual decisions may not have a major effect but can have a cumulative major effect. Perspectives on Biodiversity reviews current understanding of the value of biodiversity and the methods that are useful in assessing that value in particular circumstances. It recommends and details a list of components-including diversity of species, genetic variability within and among species, distribution of species across the ecosystem, the aesthetic satisfaction derived from diversity, and the duty to preserve and protect biodiversity. The book also recommends that more information about the role of biodiversity in sustaining natural resources be gathered and summarized in ways useful to managers. Acknowledging that decisions about biodiversity are necessarily qualitative and change over time because of the nonmarket nature of so many of the values, the committee recommends periodic reviews of management decisions.


Valuing Ecosystem Services

Valuing Ecosystem Services

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2005-05-14

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 030909318X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Nutrient recycling, habitat for plants and animals, flood control, and water supply are among the many beneficial services provided by aquatic ecosystems. In making decisions about human activities, such as draining a wetland for a housing development, it is essential to consider both the value of the development and the value of the ecosystem services that could be lost. Despite a growing recognition of the importance of ecosystem services, their value is often overlooked in environmental decision-making. This report identifies methods for assigning economic value to ecosystem servicesâ€"even intangible onesâ€"and calls for greater collaboration between ecologists and economists in such efforts.


From the Corn Belt to the Gulf

From the Corn Belt to the Gulf

Author: Joan Iverson Nassauer

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2010-09-30

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 113652536X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Nutrients from farms in the Mississippi River Basin are the leading cause of the Gulf of Mexico‘s 'Dead Zone,' a 5,000 to 7,000 square mile region where declining oxygen levels are threatening the survival of marine life. From the Corn Belt to the Gulf explores how new agricultural policy can help alleviate this problem, and at the same time improve water quality overall, enhance biodiversity, improve the quality of life for the people who live and work in Corn Belt communities, and relieve downstream flooding. The themes of the book are the far-reaching environmental impacts of Corn Belt agriculture, including associated economic and social effects at multiple spatial scales - and the potential for future agricultural policy to address those impacts through changes in agricultural landscapes and practices. We know that the environmental 'footprint' of Corn Belt agriculture extends beyond farmland and adjacent lakes and streams to groundwater, rivers, cities downstream, into the Gulf of Mexico, and, ultimately, to global oceanic and atmospheric systems. And we acknowledge that agricultural policies, including commodity support payments, have economic impacts at the national and international levels. Pressing negotiations with America‘s trade partners, along with increasing societal attention to both the costs and environmental effects of current agricultural policy, are creating momentum for policy change. From the Corn Belt to the Gulf presents innovative, integrated assessments of the agriculture and ecological systems in the Mississippi River Basin along with studies of local Iowa agricultural watersheds. Contributors from multiple academic and professional disciplines discuss how agricultural policies have contributed to current environmental conditions, and, in what the authors term 'alternative futures' for agricultural landscapes, envision how new policy can help achieve more beneficial patterns.


Valuing Rural Amenities

Valuing Rural Amenities

Author: OECD

Publisher: OECD Publishing

Published: 2001-01-12

Total Pages: 174

ISBN-13: 9264192123

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This volume reviews a range of different valuation methodologies -- stated preferences, cost-benefit, revealed preferences, and others -- and looks at how these different approaches influence choices in rural policy.


Arizona Water Policy

Arizona Water Policy

Author: Bonnie G. Colby

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2010-09-30

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 1136525432

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The central challenge for Arizona and many other arid regions in the world is keeping a sustainable water supply in the face of rapid population growth and other competing demands. This book highlights new approaches that Arizona has pioneered for managing its water needs. The state has burgeoning urban areas, large agricultural regions, water dependent habitats for endangered fish and wildlife, and a growing demand for water-based recreation. A multi-year drought and climate-related variability in water supply complicate the intense competition for water. Written by well-known Arizona water experts, the essays in this book address these issues from academic, professional, and policy perspectives that include economics, climatology, law, and engineering. Among the innovations explored in the book is Arizona‘s Groundwater Management Act. Arizona is not alone in its challenges. As one of the seven states in the Colorado River Basin that depend heavily on the river, Arizona must cooperate, and sometimes compete, with other state, tribal, and federal governments. One institution that furthers regional cooperation is the water bank, which encourages groundwater recharge of surplus surface water during wet years so that the water remains available during dry years. The Groundwater Management Act imposes conservation requirements and establishes planning and investment programs in renewable water supplies. The essays in Arizona Water Policy are accessible to a broad policy-oriented and nonacademic readership. The book explores Arizona‘s water management and extracts lessons that are important for arid and semi-arid areas worldwide.