ISSUES IN HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT: DISCUSSION

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Capital Dynamics in the North Sea Herring Fishery

Dynamic adjustment is an integral part of natural resource economics. Commonly, capital is assumed to respond instantaneously to changes in profits, while in reality adjustment may take place only with a time lag. In this paper, an empirical analysis of capital (boat) dynamics in the North Sea herring fishery is undertaken. A discrete time model is formulated to model decisions of boats to enter or exit the fishery. A lagged model is specified to reflect adjustment time to changes in profits. The empirical results indicate that fleet adjustment in this fishery primarily depends on current period profits and that the opportunity cost may depend on returns in the alternative fishery. Inclusion of lagged variables to account for the construction time for new boats, showed only a small improvement in the statistical fit. Moreover, the results did not support a hypothesis that entry in response to positive profits is more elastic than exit due to negative profits.Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Optimizing The Riparian Buffer: Harold Brook In The Skaneateles Lake Watershed, New York

The use of riparian land buffers to protect water quality for human consumption and wildlife habitat has become an important conservation tool of both government and non-government agencies. The funds available to acquire private lands for riparian buffers are limited, however, and not all land contributes to water quality goals in the same way. Conservation agencies must therefore identify effective ways to allocate their scarce budgets in heterogeneous landscapes. We demonstrate how the acquisition of land for a riparian buffer can be viewed as a binary optimization problem and we apply the resulting model to a case study in New York (JEL Q15, Q25). Working Paper # 2002-00

Wilderness: Options to Preserve, Extract or Develop

WP 1998-01 March 199

On the Resumption of Commercial Whaling: The Case of the Minke Whale in the Northeast Atlantic

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) met in Reykjavik, Iceland, in May 1991 to determine whether the five-year moratorium on commercial whaling, implemented in 1986, was to expire or be extended. Japan, Iceland and Norway sought to resume commercial whaling on stocks of fin and minke whales, which they regard as capable of supporting commercial harvest without risk of extinction. The IWC voted to extend the moratorium at least one more year. Iceland has subsequently withdrawn from the IWC, and Norway and Japan are also considering withdrawal. A bioeconomic model is constructed that might be used to manage the industry if commercial whaling is resumed. It is applied to the stock of minke whales in the Northeast Atlantic. The optimal stock and level of harvest depends on eight bioeconomic parameters. For a fleet with average productivity, the stock ranged from 81,052 adult whales, supporting a harvest of 137 animals, to 57,770 adult whales, supporting a harvest of 1675. The price/cost ratio will be important in determining the optimal stock and the long-run viability of whaling.Key words: economics, commercial whaling, minke whaleLa Commission baleinière internationale (CBI) s'est réunie à Reykjavik, en Islande, en mai 1991, pour déterminer si le moratoire de cinq ans sur la chasse commerciale à la baleine devait expirer ou être prolongé. Le Japon, l'Islande et la Norvège demandaient la reprise de la chasse commerciale des stocks de rorqual commun et de petit rorqual, qui, d'après ces pays, sont capables de supporter une prise commerciale sans risque d'extinction. La CBI a voté pour la prolongation du moratoire pendant au moins un an. L'Islande s'est par la suite retirée de la CBI, et le Japon et la Norvège envisagent de faire la même chose. On construit un modèle bio-économique qui pourrait être utilisé afin de gérer l'industrie si la chasse commerciale reprend. On l'applique au stock du petit rorqual de l'Atlantique du Nord-Est. Le stock optimal et le niveau des prises dépendent de huit paramètres bio-économiques. Pour une flotte de productivité moyenne, le stock va de 81 052 baleines adultes supportant une prise de 137 animaux, à 57 770 baleines adultes supportant une prise de 1675 animaux. Le rapport prix/coût sera un facteur important qui déterminera le stock optimal et la viabilité à long terme de la chasse à la baleine.Mots clés: économie, chasse commerciale à la baleine, petit rorqua

A BIOECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE NORTHERN ANCHOVY

A simple bioeconomic model was specified and estimated for the central subpopulation of the northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax). Net population growth was described by a power function and harvest by the U. S. reduction fleet was modelled by an exponential production function. When incorporated into a bioeconomic model they allowed the derivation of two explicit functions, Y = Ö(X) and Y = Ø(X) which could be used to depict the bioeconomic optimum. The roots of Ö(X) have important economic interpretations and can be used to characterize the economic status of the fishery. The positively-sloped segment of the Ö(X) curve may be used as an approximately-optimal adaptive management policy. For the set of bioeconomic parameters circa 1990, anchovy biomass would need to increase to about 1 million metric tons before arousing the economic interest of the wetfish fleet. Alternatively, a price/cost ratio of 0.6 or more would imply positive net revenues at a biomass of 350,000 metric tons. The current price/cost ratio may be as low as 0.1 and the current estimate of biomass is about 300,000 metric tons. Thus, unless there is a dramatic increase in the demand for oil and fish meal or a spectacular increase in biomass, it seems unlikely that there will be a resurgence in the reduction fishery for anchovy in the near future.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

ECONOMIC STRATEGIES FOR COEVOLUTION: PARKS, BUFFER ZONES AND BIODIVERSITY

The creation of parks and preserves in less developed countries is seen as an important step in preserving biodiversity and genetic information (Dixon and Sherman 1990). The establishment of a park or preserve, however, is often seen as a threat by rural residents if they are denied access to areas where hunting, gathering or small scale agricultural provided them with food, fuel or marketable products. In a series of papers Norgaard (1981, 1984 and 1985) advocates development strategies that promote coevolution of socioeconomic and ecological systems. In this dynamic context, coevolution might be defined by a set of trajectories describing economic welfare and biodiversity that remain within "acceptable" bounds over some future horizon. (1) What are some possible measures for economic welfare and biodiversity? (2) How might one identify the scale and location of hunting, gathering and agricultural activities within a buffer zone to a park or preserve that would qualify as coevolutionary? (3) How might one optimize over the set of coevolutionary strategies? A methodology is proposed to address these questions and to explore the economic incentives that might support a coevolutionary strategy in the buffer zone to a park or preserve.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Geometric factors influencing the diet of vertebrate predators in marine and terrestrial environments

Predator–prey relationships are vital to ecosystem function and there is a need for greater predictive understanding of these interactions. We develop a geometric foraging model predicting minimum prey size scaling in marine and terrestrial vertebrate predators taking into account habitat dimensionality and biological traits. Our model predicts positive predator–prey size relationships on land but negative relationships in the sea. To test the model, we compiled data on diets of 794 predators (mammals, snakes, sharks and rays). Consistent with predictions, both terrestrial endotherm and ectotherm predators have significantly positive predator–prey size relationships. Marine predators, however, exhibit greater variation. Some of the largest predators specialise on small invertebrates while others are large vertebrate specialists. Prey–predator mass ratios were generally higher for ectothermic than endothermic predators, although dietary patterns were similar. Model-based simulations of predator–prey relationships were consistent with observed relationships, suggestin

The Economic Threshold With a Stochastic Pest Population: An Application to the European Red Mite

WP 1996-09 August 199

An Evening of Opera Arias by the Ouachita Opera Theatre

This is the program for the Ouachita Opera Theatre concert held on December 5, 1995, in Mabee Fine Arts Center\u27s Recital Hall. Dr. Jon Secrest was the conductor; Vivian Conrad accompanied on piano