MKBA EcoLaNa grondfonds : De maatschappelijke gevolgen van de implementatie van een aantal duurzaamheidcriteria op veehouderij en akkerbouwbedrijven

Het EcoLaNa plan houdt in dat boeren overstappen op een duurzamere vorm van landbouw dan gangbare landbouw. Wat er onder duurzaamheid wordt verstaan blijkt uit de maatregelen die voor EcoLaNa zijn opgesteld. Door in te zetten op duurzame landbouw zal het EcoLaNa plan bijdragen aan het realiseren van de doelen die gesteld zijn door verschillende overheden, onder andere in het Europese Plattelandsontwikkelingsbeleid. Het gaat hierbij om doelen als het bevorderen van een sterke en dynamische agrofoodsector, instandhouding van de biodiversiteit en van landbouwsystemen met hoge natuurwaarden en uitvoering van de kaderrichtlijn water (POP2). In deze studie is middels een MKBA onderzocht of overschakeling naar duurzamere EcoLaNa landbouw voor de samenleving interessant is

Surface water sanitation and biomass production in a large constructed wetland in the Netherlands

In Western-Europe, agricultural practices have contributed to environmental problems such as eutrophication of surface and ground water, flooding, drought and desiccation of surrounding natural habitats. Solutions that reduce the impact of these problems are urgently needed. Common reed (Phragmites australis) is capable of sanitizing surface water and may function as green energy source because of its high productivity. Here, the results of an experiment in a constructed wetland in the Netherlands are presented where two different sanitation treatments were compared. Depending on the residence time and volume per unit area, reed is capable to reduce the total amount of nitrogen in the water with average efficiencies from 32 to 47% and the total amount of phosphorous with 27–45%. Although biomass production still varies largely between different parts of the constructed wetland, a rapid increase in biomass was observed since planting. Constructed wetlands with reed provide opportunities to improve water quality and reed produces enough biomass to serve as green energy source. Moreover, these wetlands also function as a flood water reservoir and are possibly advantageous for biodiversity. The optimal moment of reed harvesting depends on the goal of the owner. This moment should be chosen wisely, as it may have consequences for reed filter regeneration, biomass production, biodiversity, methane emission and water sanitation efficiency

Cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis for the MSFD

Binnen de maatregelen die in dit rapport worden overwogen, zijn de grootste baten van de kaderrichtlijn mariene strategie gerelateerd aan zwerfafval op zee. De grootste financiële voordelen zijn gerelateerd aan het reduceren van grotere stukken zwerfafval op zee. Het doel dat is gesteld om een goede milieustatus te bereiken voor biota, zal echter pas worden bereikt als de hoeveelheid kleine plastic deeltjes in de zee wordt verminderd, aangezien dit de grootste drukfactor is. Maatregelen om het aantal verloren netten en delen van netten tot een minimum te beperken, zijn potentieel kosteneffectief. Mensen bewust maken van hun eigen bijdrage aan het zwerfafval probleem op zee zal een belangrijke rol spelen bij het beperken van zwerfafval, zowel van toeristen op het strand als van zeevaarders en vissers op zee

Valuation of livestock eco-agri-food systems: poultry, beef and dairy

As input for the TEEBAgriFood study, TEEB asked for a series of studies on livestock, rice, palm oil, inland fisheries and agro-forestry. This report deals with livestock production and aims to improve decision-making in livestock production policies, to enhance its viability, not just economically but also socially and environmentally. Livestock sector is important because they have high externalities and it is expected that livestock consumption will be 76% higher in 2050 compared to 2005 (Alexandratos and Bruisma, 2012) because of population growth, income growth, urbanization and preference shifts. This report aims to provide evidence that will help to identify policy options for the transition towards increased food security with sustainable livestock production systems, with particular emphasis on the role of smallholder farmers

Using value of statistical life for the ex ante evaluation of transport policy options: a discussion based on ethical theory

This paper aims to discuss a number of questions that are highly important for the ex ante evaluation of the safety impacts of transport policy options, from the perspective of ethical theory: (1) Is it morally OK to express prevention on acceptance of fatalities or risks in monetary terms? (2) How useful is the concept of the value of a statistical life (VOSL) for ex ante evaluations of transport policy options? (3) What are the pros and cons of pricing protection of lives or prevention of risks in ex ante evaluations? (4) Which methods are available for expressing (protection of) human lives in monetary terms, and what are the main related methodological discussions? (5) Are all safety-related costs generally included in ex ante evaluations of the safety impacts of transport policy options, and if not: what is the relevance of excluded costs categories from an ethical perspective? (6) How important is the distribution of safety effects from an ethical perspective? The answer to the first question highly depends on the ethical theory that is used. With respect to question 2 we think that the VOSL is a useful concept, but that its application is not straightforward, for several reasons. Thirdly we think that probably pricing safety improves the quality of decision making, but to the best of our knowledge there is no research to underpin this expectation. The answer to question 4 is that several methods exist to estimate the value of a statistical life (VOSL), willingness-to-pay (WTP) methods being the most common category of methods. However, several methodological issues arise that make estimates of VOSL less straightforward. With respect to question 5 we conclude that behaviour-related avoidance costs are often overlooked and that these costs are relevant from an ethical perspective because the freedom to move and the freedom to participate in activities are challenged. Finally the answer to question 6 is that from an ethical perspective, in terms of the evaluation of policy measures, it might matter which groups of the population are the victims of the transport system, or are at risk. Egalitarian theories as well as sufficientarianism are useful theories to discuss distribution effects. Different theories conclude differently. © 2012 The Author(s)