Valuing Ecosystem Services

Valuing Ecosystem Services

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2005-05-14

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 030909318X

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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.


Economic Analysis of the Environmental Impacts of Development Projects

Economic Analysis of the Environmental Impacts of Development Projects

Author: John A. Dixon

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-11-05

Total Pages: 139

ISBN-13: 1134046855

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It has always been thought that some level of pollution and waste is unavoidable in development projects. But no one has made much effort to quantify and assess the extent of this sort of damage. In this book a group of analysts from the Asian Development Bank and from the East West Center propose a means of constructing useful economic evaluations of the impacts of development projects on the environments in which they are constructed. This study demands the systematic evaluation of all the intentional and unintentional consequences of development initiatives before they are determined upon. It is essential reading for development economists, analysts and bankers. Originally published in 1986


Valuing Climate Damages

Valuing Climate Damages

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2017-06-23

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 0309454204

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The social cost of carbon (SC-CO2) is an economic metric intended to provide a comprehensive estimate of the net damages - that is, the monetized value of the net impacts, both negative and positive - from the global climate change that results from a small (1-metric ton) increase in carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions. Under Executive Orders regarding regulatory impact analysis and as required by a court ruling, the U.S. government has since 2008 used estimates of the SC-CO2 in federal rulemakings to value the costs and benefits associated with changes in CO2 emissions. In 2010, the Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (IWG) developed a methodology for estimating the SC-CO2 across a range of assumptions about future socioeconomic and physical earth systems. Valuing Climate Changes examines potential approaches, along with their relative merits and challenges, for a comprehensive update to the current methodology. This publication also recommends near- and longer-term research priorities to ensure that the SC- CO2 estimates reflect the best available science.


Valuing Environmental Amenities Using Stated Choice Studies

Valuing Environmental Amenities Using Stated Choice Studies

Author: Barbara J. Kanninen

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-05-31

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 1402053134

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This book provides practical, research-based advice on how to conduct high-quality stated choice studies. It covers every aspect of the topic, from planning and writing the survey, to analyzing results, to evaluating quality. There is no other book on the market today that so thoroughly addresses the methodology of stated choice. Chapters are written by top-notch academics and practitioners in an accessible style, offering practical, tough advice.


Shock Waves

Shock Waves

Author: Stephane Hallegatte

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2015-11-23

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 1464806748

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Ending poverty and stabilizing climate change will be two unprecedented global achievements and two major steps toward sustainable development. But the two objectives cannot be considered in isolation: they need to be jointly tackled through an integrated strategy. This report brings together those two objectives and explores how they can more easily be achieved if considered together. It examines the potential impact of climate change and climate policies on poverty reduction. It also provides guidance on how to create a “win-win†? situation so that climate change policies contribute to poverty reduction and poverty-reduction policies contribute to climate change mitigation and resilience building. The key finding of the report is that climate change represents a significant obstacle to the sustained eradication of poverty, but future impacts on poverty are determined by policy choices: rapid, inclusive, and climate-informed development can prevent most short-term impacts whereas immediate pro-poor, emissions-reduction policies can drastically limit long-term ones.