Pricing in ecosystems: A generalized linear production model

In this paper a method is developed to derive prices for natural goods from information about material and energy flows within ecosystems. The derivation is based on an analogy between ecological and economic systems: both systems are characterized by flows of material and energy. To derive ecosystem prices the mathematical structure of Koopmans economic linear production model his activity analysis is applied to a material flow model of ecosystems. The ecological interpretation of these prices is discussed and the uniqueness of the price system is investigated. An algorithm for price calculation is derived and demo nstrated with a numerical example. Finally, it is discussed whether ecosystem prices may be suitable as surrogates for economic valuations of natural goods. --Price theory,evaluation of natural goods,activity analysis,general equilibrium theory,ecosystems,material flows,energy flows

Pharmaceutical residues in drinking water and water bodies. TAB-Fokus

The consumption of medicines is increasing. Most of the pharmaceutical substances taken by humans and animals are excreted and can be found in many water bodies and partly even in groundwater. Currently, based on existing studies, an acute or chronic health risk from pharmaceutical substances in drinking water can be excluded. However, there are strong indications that pharmaceutical residues in combination with other micropollutants affect aquatic communities. Overall, there are still gaps of knowledge with regard to the occurrence and effects of pharmaceutical residues in the environment. With a series of measures, it is possible to reduce the discharge of pharmaceutical substances into the aquatic environment – without compromising health protection. Here, a combination of different measures seems to make sense. In this context, there is an intense debate focusing on the upgrading of large sewage treatment plants with a fourth treatment stage. It is necessary to consider which tangible measures should be taken within the framework of a comprehensive micropollutant strategy that is to be pursued

Welchen Beitrag können die Wirtschaftswissenschaften zum Erhalt der Biodiversität leisten?

In der politischen Diskussion werden für den Erhalt der biologischen Vielfalt in der Regel ökonomische Argumente vorgebracht: Biodiversität sollte als ökonomisches Gut betrachtet werden. Dem Rückgang der Vielfalt sei entgegenzutreten, indem man die Auswirkungen menschlicher Aktivitäten auf die Biodiversität mit dem ökonomisch angemessenen Preis bewertet und bei Entscheidungen entsprechend berücksichtigt. In diesem Beitrag wird gezeigt, dass diese Argumentation zu kurz greift. Ökonomische Bewertungen fußen letztlich auf dem Marginalprinzip. Die Bedeutung der Biodiversität (und der natürlichen Umwelt) wird dabei systematisch unterschätzt. Alfred Marshall erkannte als erster, dass der Preis eines Gutes seine Knappheit und nicht seine Bedeutung misst. Erst bei hoher Knappheit der Biodiversität, spiegelt der Preis auch seine Bedeutung wider. Aufgrund der Irreversibilität des Biodiversitätsverlustes sollte man aber nicht so lange warten. Meine These lautet, dass die Ökonomik durch die Ermittlung des (marginalen) Preises der Biodiversität, des ökonomischen Gesamtwertes der Biodiversität oder des Gesamtwertes aller Ökosystemdienstleistungen nur einen geringen Beitrag zur Lösung des Problems Erhalt der Biodiversität leisten kann. Die Entscheidung für den Erhalt muss eine politische Rahmenvorgabe sein. Sie muss vor allem ökologisch-naturwissenschaftlich und ethisch begründet werden. Wurde aber eine solche Grundsatzentscheidung (z.B. über safe minimum standards) bereits getroffen, können die Wirtschaftswissenschaften (in interdisziplinärer Zusammenarbeit) einen wesentlichen Beitrag zu der Frage leisten, wie ein solches Ziel am besten erreicht werden kann. Vor allem können geeignete ökonomische Anreizstrukturen geschaffen werden, um die gesetzten Erhaltungsziele zu realisieren. --

Supporting decisions on conflicting land-uses: An integrated ecological-economic approach

An integrated ecological-economic decision-making approach is developed to help local stakeholders decide on land use in rural areas where the conflict between natural resource protection and economic development is pressing. It consists of four methodological steps. In the first step the political options and alternatives for action regarding changes in the land-use pattern are specified in order to derive politically relevant land-use strategies (scenarios). In the second step economic, ecological and social indicators are derived. The third step includes economic modelling (economic input-output model), environmental modelling (modelling of landscape water balance) and the qualitative and quantitative estimation of ecological and environmental effects. These efforts result in the production of a multi-indicator matrix. Finally, the fourth step deals with a combined monetary and multi-criteria evaluation resulting in a ranking of the land-use strategies. The discussion of the decision-making approach concentrates on the necessity of preliminary decisions and the possibility and necessity of stakeholders participation in the decisionmaking process. --evaluation,decision-making,multi-criteria analysis,land-use management,scenarios,benefit-cost analysis

Multicriteria analysis under uncertainty with IANUS - method and empirical results

IANUS is a method for aiding public decision-making that supports efforts towards sustainable development and has a wide range of application. IANUS stands for Integrated Assessment of Decisions uNder Uncertainty for Sustainable Development. This paper introduces the main features of IANUS and illustrates the method using the results of a case study in the Torgau region (eastern Germany). IANUS structures the decision process into four steps: scenario derivation, criteria selection, modeling, evaluation. Its overall aim is to extract the information needed for a sound, responsible decision in a clear, transparent manner. The method is designed for use in conflict situations where environmental and socioeconomic effects need to be considered and so an interdisciplinary approach is required. Special emphasis is placed on a broad perception and consideration of uncertainty. Three types of uncertainty are explicitly taken into account by IANUS: development uncertainty (uncertainty about the social, economic and other developments that affect the consequences of decision), model uncertainty (uncertainty associated with the prediction of the effects of decisions), and weight uncertainty (uncertainty about the appropriate weighting of the criteria). The backbone of IANUS is a multicriteria method with the ability to process uncertain information. In the case study the multicriteria method PROMETHEE is used. Since PROMETHEE in its basic versions is not able to process uncertain information an extension of this method is developed here and described in detail. --

The environment as a challenge for governmental responsibility: The case of the European Water Framework Directive

The European Water Framework Directive is shaping a new conception of integrative water protection. In this article, the consequences of the Water Framework Directive in respect to national environmental policy will be discussed in referring to the notion of responsibility which is a central concept of political philosophy and theory. It will be shown that the new conception of integrative water protection entails a fundamental change in European water protection policy and also environmental policy at all. It implies that environmental policy has not only to prevent environmental damage but in particular has to warrant a good status of the environment, such that it must maintain a good status of water or even achieve it if this status does not exist. Achieving and maintaining a good status of the environment is, however, an encompassing task. Thereby, state power and will eventually be overexerted. The threat of such overexertion has to be kept in mind in discussing the perspective of the so called New Environmental Governance. It will be pointed out that the New Environmental Governance is not primarily a form of some sort of democratic participation but rather designed to improve state power in environmental politics. --Environmental politics,European Water Framework Directive,Responsibility,Environmental Governance

Conceptualising uncertainty in environmental decision-making: The example of the EU Water Framework Directive

The question of how to deal with uncertainty in environmental decision-making is cur-rently attracting considerable attention on the part of scientists as well as of politicians and those involved in government administration. The existence of uncertainty becomes particularly apparent in the field of environmental policy because environmental prob-lems are regarded as highly complex and long-term and because far-reaching changes have to be taken into account; moreover, the knowledge available to practitioners and policy makers alike is often fragmentary and not systemised. One key issue arising from this is the challenge to develop scientific decision support methods that are capable of dealing with uncertainty in a systematic and differentiated way, integrating scientific and practical knowledge. This paper introduces a conceptual framework for perceiving and describing uncertainty in environmental decision-making. It is argued that perceiv-ing and describing uncertainty is an important prerequisite for deciding and acting under uncertainty. The conceptual framework consists of a general definition of uncertainty along with five complementary perspectives on the phenomenon, each highlighting one specific aspect of it. By using the conceptual framework, decision-makers are able to re-flect on their knowledge base with regard to its completeness and reliability and to gain a broad picture of uncertainty from various standpoints. The theoretical ideas presented here are based on two empirical studies looking at how uncertainty is dealt with in the implementation process of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). The rather ab-stract differentiations are illustrated by a number of examples in the form of interview statements and excerpts from the WFD and the WFD guidance documents Impress, Wateco und Proclan. --uncertainty,probability,lack of knowledge,pure ignorance,environ-mental decision-making,EU Water Framework Directive (WFD)

Cost-effective improvement of river morphology

The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) calls for cost-effective measures to achieve a "good status" in all European ground, surface and coastal waters. Besides eutrophication, the degradation of hydro-morphology is the main reason for failing the WFD's objectives in Germany. In this paper , we conceptualize the interactive decision support process BASINFORM-M for finding proper locations for river restora tion. The method combines the recently proposed "stepping stone concept" from aquatic ecology with elements from cost-effectiveness analysis, multi-criteria analysis and participatory approaches. BASINFORM-M exemplifies a shift away from the isolated resto ration of single river reaches to wards a consideration of functional relationships within the whole river network. In doing so, it satisfies the WFD's requirement of considering cost-effectiveness without neglecting other important evaluation criteria

Water Procurement Time and Its Implications for Household Water Demand: Insights from a Water Diary Study in Five Informal Settlements of Pune, India

Many private households spend considerable amounts of time accessing water, for instance by walking to and queuing at public access points, or by filling storage vessels at taps with low flow rates. This time has an opportunity cost, which can be substantial and may impact which water services and quantities of water households demand. In a novel form of diary study, we gathered detailed water consumption and time use data from 50 households in five informal settlements of the Indian metropolis Pune, accompanied by a household survey and in-depth interviews. With the data, we characterize water collection behaviors and assign monetary values to water procurement time. We statistically analyze the effects of time cost on consumed quantities in several two-level mixed effect models. Household members in our sample spend up to several hours each day filling storage vessels, even if a private connection to the piped network is available. Average time cost amounted to the equivalent of 4.23–13.81% of monthly household cash income. Our analyses indicate that procurement time reduces quantitative water demand in a significant way. The households incurring the highest per-unit time cost consumed water quantities below minimum levels recommended for human health. This substantiates that time costs can impede access to water and are a relevant issue for water management and policy

Operating System Concepts for Reconfigurable Computing: Review and Survey

One of the key future challenges for reconfigurable computing is to enable higher design productivity and a more easy way to use reconfigurable computing systems for users that are unfamiliar with the underlying concepts. One way of doing this is to provide standardization and abstraction, usually supported and enforced by an operating system. This article gives historical review and a summary on ideas and key concepts to include reconfigurable computing aspects in operating systems. The article also presents an overview on published and available operating systems targeting the area of reconfigurable computing. The purpose of this article is to identify and summarize common patterns among those systems that can be seen as de facto standard. Furthermore, open problems, not covered by these already available systems, are identified