Specification of Environmental Emission Trading Options in a Spatial Multi-Agent Simulation Model of Pastoral Farming

A risk efficient frontier for a pastoral farm indicates the optimal enterprise mix that allows the farmer to generate the highest income for a given level of financial risk. It is calculated by matching the available range of enterprises (sheep, beef cattle, deer, dairy, exotic forest and indigenous forest) to the mix of land classes available on the farm. The quantity of environmental emissions produced from the farm varies with the optimal enterprise mix along the risk efficient frontier, and therefore enables the farmer to assess the financial consequences of moving along the frontier to achieve a desired level of environmental emissions. This study uses databases of land cover, land classes and farm boundaries to develop a method for estimating the risk efficient frontier for each farm in the Lake Taupo catchment. The information is used to develop nitrogen trading rules for farmers in a multi-agent simulation framework. The other decision makers in the multi-agent simulation framework are the regulatory institution which sets trading rules and can purchase nitrogen, and the auctioneer who manages the trading protocols. The regulator's cost function for acquiring nitrogen was derived assuming the regulator has full information of the risk efficient frontier of each farmer in the Lake Taupo catchment. Other trading protocols using complete or partial information of the farmers risk efficient frontiers are being developed

Estimating The Cost Of Food Safety Regulations To The New Zealand Seafood Industry

In New Zealand, the Animal Products Act (1999) required all animal product processing businesses to have a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) based Risk Management Program (RMP) by the end of 2002. The purpose of the Act is to manage food safety risks and to facilitate overseas market access. However the new regulation will potentially bring costs to businesses. This paper attempts to measure the effects of RMP requirements on the variable cost of production of the New Zealand seafood industry. Using the framework developed by Antle (2000), a cost function is estimated using census of production data from 1929 to 1998. Results show that variable costs could increase from 2 percent to 22 percent or from 2 cents to 19 cents per kilogram

Integrated assessment of the environmental, economic and social impacts of land use change using a GIS format – the CLUES model

The CLUES model is an integrated catchment based model that designed to assist policy makers in understanding the implications of land use scenarios for water quality and a range of other indicators. CLUES integrates a number of existing models from several research providers, including SPARROW (catchment hydrology), OVERSEER and SPASMO (nutrient losses), ENSUS (nitrate leaching risk), and a socioeconomic model. These are combined in a GIS framework which allows scenarios of land use to be assessed in a spatial manner. Regional council staff have been trained in its use, and the model is under ongoing development in response to feedback from users. This paper discusses the overall framework of the CLUES model, and discusses in greater depth the socio-economic components and their integration with the biophysical models

Integrated assessment of the environmental, economic and social impacts of land use change using a GIS format – the CLUES model

The CLUES model is an integrated catchment based model that designed to assist policy makers in understanding the implications of land use scenarios for water quality and a range of other indicators. CLUES integrates a number of existing models from several research providers, including SPARROW (catchment hydrology), OVERSEER and SPASMO (nutrient losses), ENSUS (nitrate leaching risk), and a socioeconomic model. These are combined in a GIS framework which allows scenarios of land use to be assessed in a spatial manner. Regional council staff have been trained in its use, and the model is under ongoing development in response to feedback from users. This paper discusses the overall framework of the CLUES model, and discusses in greater depth the socio-economic components and their integration with the biophysical models.sustainability indicators, catchment models, water quality, economic impacts, land use change, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use, Political Economy,