The use of policy appraisal in water policy making: Comparing WFD implementation in England and France

Of all natural resources, water is particularly under pressure due to its intensive use. Therefore, it is vital to better understand the decision-making processes that could reverse trends in environmental deterioration. Policy appraisal tools can help decision makers develop sustainable public policies, as they support evidence-based policy choices. In practice, however, they are rarely used as a basis for decisions. In this context, this PhD has aimed to answer the following research question: How can we explain the different uses of policy appraisal - in particular of economic analysis – beyond evidence-based policy making in water decision making? To this end, I studied the case of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) (2000/60/EC) and the use of cost-benefit analysis in its application in the United Kingdom and France, as recent examples in which economic-based policy appraisal plays, in principle, a key role. I showed that appraisal tools could reflect political objectives and environmental policy ambitions in two ways. Firstly in the choice of the appraisal tool itself, which follows a specific logic. Secondly, the operationalisation of the tool selected may be influenced by political goals. As a consequence, the use of policy appraisal for evidence-based decision making can partly be explained by the discrepancy between the output of the appraisal and the political objectives pursued. More generally, I found that the politics stream – i.e. the political context - determines the presence and importance of appraisal tools in the policy process and explains further uses, in particular in problem definition and policy formulation. I also provided an empirical contribution to the knowledge on WFD implementation in member states. I explained the process of setting objectives and exemptions in two member states, and the role that economic analysis played in the decision-making process. I showed that ambitions related to the implementation of the WFD, and the political context more generally, shaped the decisions on the analytical tools used and that choices made in the operationalisation of these tools partly influenced the protection standards of individual water bodies. These results imply that debates on the use of policy appraisal in WFD implementation should go beyond experts’ circles and be considered in the political sphere

Water quality is a poor predictor of recreational hotspots in England

Maintaining and improving water quality is key to the protection and restoration of aquatic ecosystems, which provide important benefits to society. In Europe, the Water Framework Directive (WFD) defines water quality based on a set of biological, hydro-morphological and chemical targets, and aims to reach good quality conditions in all river bodies by the year 2027. While recently it has been argued that achieving these goals will deliver and enhance ecosystem services, in particular recreational services, there is little empirical evidence demonstrating so. Here we test the hypothesis that good water quality is associated with increased utilization of recreational services, combining four surveys covering walking, boating, fishing and swimming visits, together with water quality data for all water bodies in eight River Basin Districts (RBDs) in England. We compared the percentage of visits in areas of good water quality to a set of null models accounting for population density, income, age distribution, travel distance, public access, and substitutability. We expect such association to be positive, at least for fishing (which relies on fish stocks) and swimming (with direct contact to water). We also test if these services have stronger association with water quality relative to boating and walking alongside rivers, canals or lakeshores. In only two of eight RBDs (Northumbria and Anglian) were both criteria met (positive association, strongest for fishing and swimming) when comparing to at least one of the null models. This conclusion is robust to variations in dataset size. Our study suggests that achieving the WFD water quality goals may not enhance recreational ecosystem services, and calls for further empirical research on the connection between water quality and ecosystem services

Autoantibodies against type I IFNs in patients with critical influenza pneumonia

In an international cohort of 279 patients with hypoxemic influenza pneumonia, we identified 13 patients (4.6%) with autoantibodies neutralizing IFN-alpha and/or -omega, which were previously reported to underlie 15% cases of life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia and one third of severe adverse reactions to live-attenuated yellow fever vaccine. Autoantibodies neutralizing type I interferons (IFNs) can underlie critical COVID-19 pneumonia and yellow fever vaccine disease. We report here on 13 patients harboring autoantibodies neutralizing IFN-alpha 2 alone (five patients) or with IFN-omega (eight patients) from a cohort of 279 patients (4.7%) aged 6-73 yr with critical influenza pneumonia. Nine and four patients had antibodies neutralizing high and low concentrations, respectively, of IFN-alpha 2, and six and two patients had antibodies neutralizing high and low concentrations, respectively, of IFN-omega. The patients' autoantibodies increased influenza A virus replication in both A549 cells and reconstituted human airway epithelia. The prevalence of these antibodies was significantly higher than that in the general population for patients 70 yr of age (3.1 vs. 4.4%, P = 0.68). The risk of critical influenza was highest in patients with antibodies neutralizing high concentrations of both IFN-alpha 2 and IFN-omega (OR = 11.7, P = 1.3 x 10(-5)), especially those <70 yr old (OR = 139.9, P = 3.1 x 10(-10)). We also identified 10 patients in additional influenza patient cohorts. Autoantibodies neutralizing type I IFNs account for similar to 5% of cases of life-threatening influenza pneumonia in patients <70 yr old

L'apport des Nudges à la protection des aires d'alimentation de captages en Alsace

Les programmes visant à protéger les aires d’alimentation de captages (AAC) en eau potable contre les pollutions diffuses d’origine agricole ont été jusqu’à présent d’une efficacité limitée. La mission professionnelle avait pour but d’évaluer dans quelle mesure des Nudges (des incitations douces basées sur la psychologie et la norme sociale) pouvaient être appliqués au cas de la protection des AAC. Ce travail identifie tout d’abord les limites des dispositifs existants. Il explore ensuite les facteurs qui expliquent l’acceptation ou le refus du changement chez les agriculteurs. Sur cette base, plusieurs Nudges sont proposés et leurs limites discutées

L'évaluation des bénéfices socio-économiques liés à l'action de Météo-France dans le domaine de la sécurité des personnes et des biens ou de l'aéronautique

Le contexte actuel de rareté de la ressource budgétaire rend indispensable de rationaliser les dépenses et d’améliorer la performance des services publics. Dans ce contexte, l’analyse socioéconomique peut être un outil pertinent pour éclairer les décideurs sur les choix budgétaires. Ainsi, cette étude cherche à évaluer les bénéfices socio-économiques rendus par un service au coeur des missions de sécurité des personnes et des biens confiées à Météo-France : la vigilance météorologique. L’objectif est d’identifier quels bénéfices sont monétarisables, quelles méthodes sont mobilisables et quelles en sont les limites. Cette étude vise, d’une part, à identifier ce que le chiffrage des bénéfices de la vigilance peut apporter à Météo-France, en termes de prise de décision et de priorisation de ses activités. D’autre part, nous chercherons à savoir si le montant de ces bénéfices peut refléter la performance de Météo-France et donc être intégré comme indicateur à son contrat d’objectif

The use of cost–benefit analysis in environmental policies: Some issues raised by the Water Framework Directive implementation in France

International audienceThis paper aims to practically contribute to the literature on the use of cost–benefit analysis (CBA) and economic evaluation in environmental decision-making through a practical case study: the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in France, for the first cycle (2010–2015). The WFD requires that Member States achieve “good status” for all water bodies in 2015. However, exemptions can apply, if justified, on natural, technical or economic reasons. For the latter, EU guidance documents recommend to use CBA. In France, the water agencies carried out 710 CBAs on proposed restoration projects for water bodies. This article reports on this experience. Issues concerning these analyses are discussed, especially the assessment of non-market benefits. Finally, this article questions the use of economic analysis in the implementation of environmental policy

Association of good/high overall water status and use of cultural ecosystem services for the eight River Basin Districts.

<p>The Odds Ratio (<i>OR</i>) of each River Basin District measures the likelihood that actual visits take place in sites characterized by good/high overall water status compared to random locations selected under a null model accounting for demand and substitutability (<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0166950#pone.0166950.t002" target="_blank">Table 2</a>). <i>OR</i> exhibits a statistically significant positive (negative) association (i.e. visits in good/high overall water status sites are more (less) common than random; solid colours) if the 90% confidence interval is completely above (below) the line <i>OR</i> = 1. The robustness of the results is tested by comparing null models, including a null model without weighting. See <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0166950#pone.0166950.g002" target="_blank">Fig 2</a> for River Basin Districts acronyms.</p

Null models for the expected % of visits in good/high overall water status sites.

<p>Null models for the expected % of visits in good/high overall water status sites.</p

Data obtained from individual River Basin Management Plans (Environment Agency, 2015) and Land Cover Map of Great Britain 2007 [31].

<p>See inset in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0166950#pone.0166950.g002" target="_blank">Fig 2</a> for location of River Basic Districts.</p

Schematic diagram of the different steps undertaken within the analysis.

<p>Multiple data sources were combined (+), compared relative to each other (/) and tested against defined criteria (?). Colors match respective Methods sections: (i) Recreation use data curation (green); (ii) Water status and geospatial data (blue); (iii) Null models (orange); (iv) Statistical analysis (purple).</p