Applying tradable permits to biodiversity conservation: effects of space-dependent ecological benefits and cost heterogeneity on habitat allocation

This paper is concerned with the cost-effective allocation of habitat for endangered species under spatio-temporally heterogeneous economic development. To address the dynamic dimension of the problem we consider tradable development rights (TDR) as the instrument of choice. A particular challenge in applying TDR is that the ecological benefit of an individual habitat patch depends on its spatial relationship with other habitats and thus is an emergent rather than a fixed property. We analyse the spatial and temporal dynamics of habitats in a region under a TDR market that takes spatial interaction of habitats explicitly into account. We show that depending on the levels of spatial interaction and cost heterogeneity, two different outcomes may emerge: an "ordered" structure where habitats are clustered in space and stable over time, and a "disordered" structure where habitats are scattered in space and subject to high turnover of destruction and recreation. --ecological-economic model,cost heterogeneity,phase transition,spatial interaction,tradable development rights

Spatial differentiation of compensation payments for biodiversity enhancing land-use measures

Given that both the costs and the benefits of biodiversity-enhancing land-use measures are subject to spatial variation, considerations of allocational efficiency call for spatially differentiated compensation payments for such measures. However, when deciding whether to implement uniform or spatially differentiated compensation payments, the regulator has to balance the allocational efficiency losses of uniform payments with the disadvantages of spatially differentiated payments. To help resolve this issue, this paper provides a conceptual framework that allows the extent of allocational efficiency losses associated with uniform payments for biodiversity-enhancing land-use measures to be assessed. A simple ecologicaleconomic model is presented which calculates the efficiency losses associated with uniform payments for different types of benefit and cost functions. --

Species conservation in the face of political uncertainty

Recent political developments and academic debate indicate that future political commitment to the protection of natural resources is uncertain. This political uncertainty is particularly problematic when the danger of irreversible damage such as the extinction of species looms. Accordingly, policies are needed which can ward off such damage. This paper analyses a particular policy regarding a situation where the survival of an endangered species depends on certain types of biodiversity-enhancing land-use measures being carried out regularly, yet due to uncertain political commitment the periodical availability of a budget to finance these measures is not guaranteed. To insure against future underfunding for conservation, a fund is established which allows money to be saved for conservation in later periods. To maximise the long-term survival of the endangered species, it has to be decided in each period whether to spend the available money now or to allocate it to the fund for future use. The paper provides an ecological-economic model for this dynamic optimisation problem. --Species conservation,ecological-economic modelling,political uncertainty,environmental policy

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. --

Differences and similarities between ecological and economic models for biodiversity conservation

In this paper we investigate an important obstacle which substantially complicates cooperation between ecologists and economists but which has received little attention so far: differences between the modelling approaches in economics and ecology. To understand these differences, 60 models addressing issues relevant to biodiversity conservation have been selected randomly from eight international economic and ecological journals. The models have been compared according to a number of criteria including the level of generality/universality the models aim at; the mathematical technique employed for formulation and solution of the model; the level of complexity and the way time, space and uncertainty are taken into account. The economic models sampled are formulated and analysed analytically, tend to be relatively simple and are generally used to investigate general questions. Furthermore, they often ignore space, dynamics and uncertainty. Although some ecological models have similar properties, there is also a substantial number of another type of ecological models that are relatively complex and analysed by simulation. These models tend to be rather specific and often explicitly consider dynamics, space and uncertainty. The integrated ecological-economic models are observed to lie 'in the middle' between ecological and economic models, an unexpected result being that they are not more complex than ecological and economic models (as one could have expected from a simple 'merger' of both modelling attitudes), but have an intermediate complexity. --Ecological-economic modelling,modelling,biodiversity,conservation

Estimating optimal conservation in agricultural landscapes when costs and benefits of conservation measures are heterogeneous in space and over time

Designing agri-environmental schemes targeted at conservation poses the key question of how many financial resources should be allocated to address a particular aim such as the conservation of an endangered species. Economists can contribute to an answer by estimating the 'optimal level of species conservation'. This requires an assessment of the supply and the demand curve for conservation and a comparison of the two curves to identify the optimal conservation level. In a case study we estimate the optimal conservation level of Large Blue butterflies (protected by the EU Habitats Directive) in the region of Landau, Germany. The difference to other studies estimating optimal conservation is that a problem is addressed where costs and benefits of conservation measures are heterogeneous in space and over time. In our case study we find a corner solution where the highest proposed level of butterfly conservation is optimal. Although our results are specific to the area and species studied, the methodology is generally applicable to estimate how many financial resources should be allocated to conserve an endangered species in the context of agri-environmental schemes. --agri-environmental policy,biodiversity,optimal conservation,spatial heterogeneity,willingness-to-pay

Integrating econimic costs into the analysis of flexible conservation management strategies

Flexible conservation management, where measures are selected in each decision period and depending on the current state of the ecological system, are generally perceived as superior to fixed management, where the same measure is applied in each decision period independent of the current state of the system. In past comparisons of fixed and flexible conservation strategies the additional costs that arise only in flexible strategies have usually been ignored. In this paper we present a framework to integrate these 'costs of flexible management' into the evaluation of flexible conservation strategies. Using the example of an endangered butterfly species we demonstrate that the costs of flexible management may reverse the rank order of flexible and fixed conservation strategies, such that fixed strategies may lead to better ecological results than flexible ones for the same financial budget. --conservation,ecological-economic model,extinction,flexible management

Managing land use and land cover change in the biodiversity context with regard to efficiency, equality and ecological effectiveness

The introduction of conservation-friendly farming measures is an important tool for biodiversity conservation. Recently, a debate has started whether this money is spent effectively, i.e. whether it successfully contributes to conserve biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Several types of criticism have been raised that are adequately responded by environmental policies leading to spatially and temporally heterogeneous habitats. However existing policies for species conservation are still designed to support one conservation measure only by paying an equal amount of compensation to all land-users carrying out the corresponding measure. Regarding ecological findings we firstly point out in which cases environmental policies have to be differentiated in space and time. Secondly, we analyse the necessary and sufficient conditions for transfer schemes to exist that are able to introduce a spatio-temporally heterogeneous land use and land cover type. Thirdly, we reveal that strategic considerations of land-owners limit efficiency and fairness considerations of the policy makers when determining the ecologically accurate payment scheme. However ' surprisingly ' if policy makers seek to minimise their budget required for implementing the desired policy goal, this at the same time guarantees that the individual profits of the land-owners (when performing with the desired policy goal) are as equal as feasible. --

The influence of farmland distribution on the performance of the agglomeration bonus

Coordination incentives like the agglomeration bonus have been proposed to induce the spatial agglomeration of biodiversity conservation efforts and counter the loss and fragmentation of species habitats. Most theoretical and empirical analyses of the agglomeration bonus make unrealistic assumptions about the spatial structure of landholdings. This paper presents a spatially explicit agent-based simulation model to explore how the spatial structure of landholdings affects the performance of the agglomeration bonus. It turns out that if the number of land parcels per landowner is large and their land is spatially cohesive, a higher proportion and agglomeration of conserved land parcels can be achieved for the given budget, implying a higher level of cost-effectiveness. This also has implications for the cost-effective design of coordination incentives. The observed effects are especially high if the conservation costs vary strongly in space