Re-establishing an Ecological Discourse in the Debate over the Value of Ecosystems and Biodiversity

The approach of conceptualizing biodiversity and ecosystems as goods and services to be represented by monetary values in policy is being championed not just by economists, but also by ecologists and conservation biologists. This new environmental pragmatism is now being pushed forward internationally under the guise of hardwiring biodiversity and ecosystems services into finance. This conflicts with the realisation that biodiversity and ecosystems have multiple incommensurable values. The current trend is to narrowly define a set of instrumental aspects of ecosystems and biodiversity to be associated with ad hoc money numbers. We argue that ecosystem science has more to offer the policy debate than pseudo-economic numbers based on assumptions that do not reflect ecological or social complexity. Re-establishing the ecological discourse in biodiversity policy implies a crucial role for biophysical indicators as policy targets e.g., the Nature Index for Norway. Yet there is a recognisable need to go beyond the traditional ecological approach to create a social ecological economic discourse. This requires reviving and relating to a range of alternative ecologically informed discourses (e.g. intrinsic values, deep ecology, ecofeminism) in order to transform the increasingly dominant and destructive relationship of humans separated from and domineering over Nature. (author's abstract)Series: SRE - Discussion Paper

Hva kan økologisk økonomi tilføre Homo economicus?

Kommentar til artikkelen: Brekke, Kjell Arne (2008): "En adferdsøkonoms hyllest til Homo Oeconomicus", Samfunnsøkonomen, nr. 5, 36 – 42.Når fagdiskusjonen fokuserer på det deskriptive spørsmålet om hvorvidt Homo economicus, det økonomiske menneske, er en god beskrivelse av menneskelig atferd, nedtones det normative spørsmålet om de etiske verdiene som er implisitt i denne modellen. Fagretningen økologisk økonomi har lansert Homo ecologicus, det økologiske menneske, som en mer helhetlig beskrivelse av potensialet for menneskelig atferd. Dette perspektivet kan være et viktig bidrag til å bringe økonomifaget i bedre samsvar med en moralfilosofi for miljøproblemenes tid

Re-establishing an Ecological Discourse in the Policy Debate over How to Value Ecosystems and Biodiversity

In this paper we explore the discourses of ecology, environmental economics, new environmental pragmatism and social ecological economics as they relate to the value of ecosystems and biodiversity. Conceptualizing biodiversity and ecosystems as goods and services that can be represented by monetary values in policy processes is an economic discourse being increasingly championed by ecologists and conservation biologists. The latter promote a new environmental pragmatism internationally as hardwiring biodiversity and ecosystems services into finance. The approach adopts a narrow instrumentalism, denies value pluralism and incommensurability, and downplays the role of scientific knowledge. Re-establishing an ecological discourse in biodiversity policy implies a crucial role for biophysical indicators as independent policy targets, exemplified in this paper by the Nature Index for Norway. Yet, there is a recognisable need to go beyond a traditional ecological approach to one recognising the interconnections of social, ecological and economic problems. This requires reviving and relating to a range of alternative ecologically informed discourses, including an ecofeminist perspective, in order to transform the increasingly dominant and destructive relationship of humans separated from and domineering over Nature. (authors' abstract)Series: SRE - Discussion Paper

Er etikk god butikk

Artikkelen er gjengitt med tillatelse fra Samfunnsøkonomenes Forening.Etiske retningslinjer er et aktuelt tema i debatten om forvaltning av oljefondet. I denne artikkelen drøfter vi om det er grunn til å tro at innføring av etiske retningslinjer i investeringsbeslutninger vil gi lavere forventet avkastning for gitt risiko enn i en situasjon uten slike beskrankninger. Videre drøfter vi momenter som taler for innføring av etiske retningslinjer selv om dette kan medføre lavere forventet avkastning

Are the Dixit-Pindyck and the Arrow-Fisher-Henry-Hanemann option values equivalent?

Abstract: The relationship between the concept of option value in the literature on environmental preservation and the financial theory of option value is discussed by Fisher (2000), suggesting an equivalence between the two concepts. In a recent paper, Mensink and Requate (2004) argue that Fisher’s claim is incorrect. In this paper we clarify Fisher’s argument by drawing on the article by Hanemann (1989), whereby we find the conditions for the Arrow-Fisher-Henry-Hanemann (AFHH) and the Dixit-Pindyck (DP) option value concepts to coincide or not. The main point is that the AFHH option value is derived under the assumption that investment does not take place in the first period, neither in the closed-loop nor in the open-loop strategy, whereas the analysis of the DP option value is based on the assumption that investment in the open-loop strategy takes place in the first period. Keywords: Option value, Uncertainty, Information, Irreversibility, Environmen

Carbon sequestration potential and the multiple functions of Nordic grasslands

Grasslands are important carbon sinks, but the underlying processes for their soil carbon sequestration potential are still not well understood, despite much attention given to this topic. In Europe, grasslands, especially semi-natural grasslands, are also important for promoting biodiversity. Moreover, recent global reports have highlighted the importance of biodiversity in supporting climate actions. In boreal and alpine regions in the Nordic countries, grasslands also play an important role in milk and meat production and food security. Certain grassland features and management practices may enhance their soil carbon sequestration potential. Semi-natural grasslands maintained by optimized livestock grazing are vital for aboveground biodiversity and show promise for belowground biodiversity and carbon sequestration potential. It is essential to assess the multiple functions of grasslands, particularly semi-natural grasslands, to facilitate the optimization of policy measures across policy areas. Climate and biodiversity policies should not counteract each other, as some do today. This essay addresses the multiple functions of grasslands and calls for more knowledge about carbon sequestration in Nordic grasslands. This will enable the management of these ecosystems to align with climate mitigation, maintain biodiversity, and satisfy the global need for increased food supply.publishedVersio

Carbon sequestration potential and the multiple functions of Nordic grasslands

Grasslands are important carbon sinks, but the underlying processes for their soil carbon sequestration potential are still not well understood, despite much attention given to this topic. In Europe, grasslands, especially semi-natural grasslands, are also important for promoting biodiversity. Moreover, recent global reports have highlighted the importance of biodiversity in supporting climate actions. In boreal and alpine regions in the Nordic countries, grasslands also play an important role in milk and meat production and food security. Certain grassland features and management practices may enhance their soil carbon sequestration potential. Semi-natural grasslands maintained by optimized livestock grazing are vital for aboveground biodiversity and show promise for belowground biodiversity and carbon sequestration potential. It is essential to assess the multiple functions of grasslands, particularly semi-natural grasslands, to facilitate the optimization of policy measures across policy areas. Climate and biodiversity policies should not counteract each other, as some do today. This essay addresses the multiple functions of grasslands and calls for more knowledge about carbon sequestration in Nordic grasslands. This will enable the management of these ecosystems to align with climate mitigation, maintain biodiversity, and satisfy the global need for increased food supply

Adapting to Climate Change in Reindeer Herding: The Nation-State as Problem and Solution.

This paper discusses the role of nation-states and their systems of gover- nance as sources of barriers and solutions to adaptation to climate change from the point of view of Saami reindeer herders. The Saami, inhabiting the northernmost areas of Fennoscandia, is one of more than twenty ethnic groups in the circumpolar Arctic that base their traditional living on reindeer herding. Climate change is likely to affect the Saami regions severely, with winter temperatures predicted to increase by up to 7 centigrade. We argue that the pastoral practices of the Saami herders are inherently better suited to handle huge natural variation in climatic con- ditions than most other cultures. Indeed, the core of their pastoral practices and herding knowledge is skillful adaptation to unusually frequent and rapid change and variability. This paper argues that the key to handle permanent changes successfully is that herders themselves have sufficient degrees of freedom to act. Considering the similarities in herding practices in the fours nation-states between which Saami culture is now divided . Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia . the systems of governance are surprisingly different. Indeed, the very definition of what is required to be defined as an ethnic Saami is very different in the three Nordic countries. We argue that timely adjust- ments modifying the structures of governance will be key to the survival of the Saami reindeer herding culture. Since the differences in governance regimes . and the need to change national governance structures . are so central to our argument, we spend some time tracing the origins of these systems.

Urban green. Integrating ecosystem extent and condition data in urban ecosystem accounts. Examples from the Oslo region

The article enhances the knowledge base for the assessment of urban ecosystem services, within the United Nations System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA), recently adopted as an international statistical standard. The SEEA EA is based on spatial extent accounts (area of ecosystems) and biophysical condition accounts (ecological state of ecosystems). Case studies from the Oslo region are explored, combining land use/land cover maps from Statistics Norway with satellite data. The results illustrate that a combination of land use/land cover data for ecosystem extent and detailed satellite data of land cover provides a much higher quality for the interpretation of extent and condition variables. This is not only a result of applying spatial analysis, but a result of applying knowledge about the information categories from satellite data of land cover, to official statistics for built-up land in urban areas that until now have not been identified. Moreover, the choice of spatial units should reflect that modelling of different ecosystem services, as a basis for trade-offs in urban planning, requires a combination of different spatial approaches to capture urban green elements. Ecosystem accounting, ecosystem services, urban ecosystems, spatial analysis, land use maps, land cover mapsacceptedVersio

Naturregnskap ser økonomi, klima og naturgoder i sammenheng

Norge har ambisiøse mål i klimapolitikken og politikken for naturforvaltning. Endret arealbruk er den viktigste årsaken til tap av naturmangfold og har også negativ klimaeffekt. Å se klima og natur i sammenheng er viktig når politikken skal utformes. Utvikling av naturregnskap, som internasjonalt er omtalt som økosystemregnskap, er et sentralt bidrag til kunnskapsgrunnlaget for politikkutformingen.Naturregnskap ser økonomi, klima og naturgoder i sammenhengpublishedVersio