ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF REGULATIONS TO PRESERVE NATIVE WOODLAND ON PRIVATE PROPERTY: A CASE STUDY IN THE HUNTER VALLEY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Australian policies to preserve native vegetation on farms rest on mandatory regulations without compensation, whereas policies in most OECD countries rest on voluntary conservation with compensation. In New South Wales, the Native Vegetation Conservation Act 1998 restricts farmers from clearing native vegetation on their own freehold land, and offers no compensation. The Act may therefore impose opportunity costs, or losses in income, on landholders. These opportunity costs are estimated for a case study property in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, and these results are then generalised to assess the broad trade-offs between development and preservation. The losses in income appear to vary between 5 and 10 per cent of annual income, depending on livestock prices. The flow of these losses over time appears to total some $26m for all properties of this kind in the immediate region. In addition to imposition of these direct opportunity costs, the regulations hinder land sales and so hinder adjustment by landholders to changing conditions.Native vegetation, environmental preservation, opportunity cost., Land Economics/Use,

Economic Considerations for Playa Management Alternatives

Playa lakes are very important to the Texas High Plains. They provide habitat for a wide variety of wildlife, and are the Ogallala Aquifer’s primary recharge source. Plowing and sedimentation have caused substantial damage to the overall health of many playas. A need exists to protect this resource for future generations. Several government programs are available to assist landowners with playa preservation including CP23A, the Wetlands Reserve Program, and the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program. This study evaluates each conservation program and weighs the economic benefits and costs of program implementation.Southern Great Plains, Playa Lakes, CP23A, Conservation Reserve Program, Wetlands Reserve Program, Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Modelling socially optimal land allocations for sugar cane growing in North Queensland: a linked mathematical programming and choice modelling study

A modelling framework is developed to determine the joint economic and environmental net benefits of alternative land allocation strategies. Estimates of community preferences for preservation of natural land, derived from a choice modelling study, are used as input to a model of agricultural production in an optimisation framework. The trade‐offs between agricultural production and environmental protection are analysed using the sugar industry of the Herbert River district of north Queensland as an example. Spatially‐differentiated resource attributes and the opportunity costs of natural land determine the optimal trade‐offs between production and conservation for a range of sugar prices.Crop Production/Industries, Land Economics/Use,

Identifying obstacles to the design and implementation of payment schemes for ecosystem services provided through farm trees

An important determinant of ecosystem services provision from European farmland is the amount and spatial arrangement of trees, shrubs, and woodlands that are integrated into the respective land use systems. Farm trees are considered ‘keystone structures’ of agroecosystems because of their disproportionally large ecological value (relative to their low abundance), but are threatened by agricultural intensification, land abandonment, and urbanization. While the preservation of farm trees is a component of several command-and control approaches and while numerous payment schemes for ecosystem services (PES schemes) provided through agricultural practices do in general exist, there are few incentive-based policies that specifically target the conservation of farm trees. This paper uses an institutional economics framework for the analysis of PES schemes that enhance the establishment, protection, and management of farm trees. Using the German state of Saxony as a case, it elaborates on the reasons for the very reluctant participation of farmers in these schemes. The obstacles identified include high production and opportunity costs, contractual uncertainties, and land tenure implications. Further, since scheme adoption has been low compared with the total area covered by the respective farm tree types, the PES schemes alone cannot explain the substantial increase in number and size of some farm-tree types. Options to improve participation comprise regionalised premiums, result-oriented remuneration, and cooperative approaches. The example of PES schemes for farm trees highlights one of the major challenges for the protection and preservation of cultural landscapes: they are man-made and thus need to be preserved, managed, and maintained continuously.Payments for ecosystem services (PES), agroecosystems, trees outside forests, institutional economics, East Germany, Saxony, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Total Economic Values for Coastal and Marine Wildlife: Specification, Validity and Valuation Issues

Benefit-cost analysis of coastal and marine wildlife management programs requires that economic benefits be monetized for comparison with the costs of preservation. Without explicit measurement and consideration of nonuse values, benefits may be underestimated and resources devoted to wildlife programs may be underallocated. Using data from a contingent valuation survey of nongame wildlife programs in coastal North Carolina, this paper provides additional evidence that total economic values under uncertainty for wildlife are theoretically valid. Specification error is found for valuation models which do not include measures of uncertainty. Specification error can lead to errors in benefit estimation.contingent valuation, option price, specification, validity, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Analysis of Trade and Environmental Policy Options on the Basis of a National Agricultural Sector Model with Multifunctional Outputs

Studies on liberalisation normally do not take into account the external benefits and costs of agriculture. Empirical studies on the valuation of externalities should be integrated into quantitative modelling. MULTSIM is a national supply model of agriculture. Besides commodity output the model depicts also external benefit linked to landscape preservation and external environmental costs of agriculture. Internalisation scenarios are defined showing that the reduction of commodity-linked support and the introduction of land subsidies and intermediate input taxes have differentiated impacts on the farm types’ competitiveness. A comprehensive policy approach to multifunctional agriculture requires market feedbacks to be taken into account. Internalising externalities may lead to a strong reduction of commodity output quantities. This gives rise to expectations that commodity prices would increase, which in turn would dampen the production impacts. As a consequence MULTSIM should be regarded as a bridge tool that may be linked to microeconomic based multi market models and agricultural trade models. A further strain of model development is an improved consideration of multiple policy objectives.environmental costs, multifunctional agriculture, policy analysis, agricultural sector modelling, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Relations/Trade,

Modelling Environmental Effects of Agriculture: The Case of Organic Rye and Grey Partridge

Our optimal control model identifies economic reasons as to why farmland bird populations have dramatically declined in modern agricultural landscapes. By integrating recreational wildlife values into farm level decision-making on arable crop choice and herbicide use, we derive those economic instruments needed for creating suitable conditions for game bird species on farmland. Based on the Finnish data available on the grey partridge (Perdix perdix), we illustrate how the optimal acreage subsidy for organically-grown areas, herbicide tax rates and the hunting licence fee could be estimated in monetary terms. Finally, we discuss the benefits and costs of cultivating organic cereals which will enhance preservation of the grey partridge.environmental benefits, grey partridge, herbicides, optimal control, rye, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q57, Q18, H41,

ECONOMIC VALUATION OF SOME WETLAND OUTPUTS OF MUD LAKE, MINNESOTA-SOUTH DAKOTA

The objective of this study was to estimate some economic values of Mud Lake, a managed, lacustrine wetland on the Minnesota-South Dakota border. Several outputs of Mud Lake were identified and an economic value was estimated for each. Flood control was valued at approximately $440 per acre, based on dollar damages prevented; water supply, using public utility revenues, was valued at$94 per acre; fish/wildlife habitat, recreation, and aesthetics were valued at about $21 per acre using the Contingent Valuation Method; and corrective expenditures were used to evaluate water quality at a negative per acre value of$180. When capitalized at 6 percent, the estimated total annual value of these four outputs is $6,250 per acre. These values can assist managers and policy makers in making decisions regarding the opportunity costs of Mud Lake management options or of wetland alterations or preservation. These snapshot values of Mud Lake "at the margin" are estimated under the assumption that all other wetlands and water resources in the region are unchanged.wetland, outputs, economic valuation, flood control, water supply, water quality, recreation, aesthetics, fish/wildlife habitat, contingent valuation method, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

The Political Economy of Downzoning

“Substantial downzoning†is defined as the exercise of police power to significantly reduce the legally permitted density on undeveloped land in a community. This contentious practice is typically challenged by those who perceive the action to limit their market opportunities (e.g., farmers and developers), their sympathizers, and others who prefer the status quo. Supporters tend to be those who perceive positive benefits (e.g., environmentalists, conservationists, and homeowners) and those who see it as a supplement to other preservation techniques, based on concerns over such things as growing public costs of land acquisition, limited effectiveness of existing alternatives, or the perceived urgency to act to manage growth. Given the complexity of the issue and the lack of previous research, this paper develops a conceptual model of the public choice to “substantially downzone†and presents specific hypotheses to be empirically tested, using New Jersey as a case study. The probability of implementing substantial downzoning is found to increase with (i) the amount of open space that remains to be protected, (ii) declining farm population, (iii) recent growth in non-farm population, (iv) recent growth in land values, and (v) the presence of alternative growth management tools. Results also suggest its use as a substitute for other preservation tools when the financial and/or political ability of communities to afford other approaches is limited. Hence, the likelihood of substantial downzoning may increase over time if alternatives become more difficult to implement.substantial downzoning, takings, land use, growth management, open space, political economy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Political Economy,

The LIFE2 final project report

Executive summary: The first phase of LIFE (Lifecycle Information For E-Literature) made a major contribution to understanding the long-term costs of digital preservation; an essential step in helping institutions plan for the future. The LIFE work models the digital lifecycle and calculates the costs of preserving digital information for future years. Organisations can apply this process in order to understand costs and plan effectively for the preservation of their digital collections The second phase of the LIFE Project, LIFE2, has refined the LIFE Model adding three new exemplar Case Studies to further build upon LIFE1. LIFE2 is an 18-month JISC-funded project between UCL (University College London) and The British Library (BL), supported by the LIBER Access and Preservation Divisions. LIFE2 began in March 2007, and completed in August 2008. The LIFE approach has been validated by a full independent economic review and has successfully produced an updated lifecycle costing model (LIFE Model v2) and digital preservation costing model (GPM v1.1). The LIFE Model has been tested with three further Case Studies including institutional repositories (SHERPA-LEAP), digital preservation services (SHERPA DP) and a comparison of analogue and digital collections (British Library Newspapers). These Case Studies were useful for scenario building and have fed back into both the LIFE Model and the LIFE Methodology. The experiences of implementing the Case Studies indicated that enhancements made to the LIFE Methodology, Model and associated tools have simplified the costing process. Mapping a specific lifecycle to the LIFE Model isn’t always a straightforward process. The revised and more detailed Model has reduced ambiguity. The costing templates, which were refined throughout the process of developing the Case Studies, ensure clear articulation of both working and cost figures, and facilitate comparative analysis between different lifecycles. The LIFE work has been successfully disseminated throughout the digital preservation and HE communities. Early adopters of the work include the Royal Danish Library, State Archives and the State and University Library, Denmark as well as the LIFE2 Project partners. Furthermore, interest in the LIFE work has not been limited to these sectors, with interest in LIFE expressed by local government, records offices, and private industry. LIFE has also provided input into the LC-JISC Blue Ribbon Task Force on the Economic Sustainability of Digital Preservation. Moving forward our ability to cost the digital preservation lifecycle will require further investment in costing tools and models. Developments in estimative models will be needed to support planning activities, both at a collection management level and at a later preservation planning level once a collection has been acquired. In order to support these developments a greater volume of raw cost data will be required to inform and test new cost models. This volume of data cannot be supported via the Case Study approach, and the LIFE team would suggest that a software tool would provide the volume of costing data necessary to provide a truly accurate predictive model