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"NATURAL RESOURCE ECONOMICS"
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BP blowout : inside the Gulf oil disaster
\"BP Blowout is the first comprehensive account of the legal, economic, and environmental consequences of the disaster that resulted from the April 2010 blowout at a BP well in the Gulf of Mexico. The accident, which destroyed the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, killed 11 people. The ensuing oil discharge- the largest ever in U.S. waters-polluted much of the Gulf for months, wreaking havoc on its inhabitants and the environment. Daniel Jacobs tells the story that neither BP nor the federal government wants heard: how the company and the government fell short, both in terms of preventing and responding to the disaster.\"--book flap
Book
Cash for carbon
We evaluated a program of payments for ecosystem services in Uganda that offered forest-owning households annual payments of 70,000 Ugandan shillings per hectare if they conserved their forest. The program was implemented as a randomized controlled trial in 121 villages, 60 of which received the program for 2 years. The primary outcome was the change in land area covered by trees, measured by classifying high-resolution satellite imagery. We found that tree cover declined by 4.2% during the study period in treatment villages, compared to 9.1% in control villages. We found no evidence that enrollees shifted their deforestation to nearby land. We valued the delayed carbon dioxide emissions and found that this program benefit is 2.4 times as large as the program costs.
Journal Article
Implications of climate change mitigation strategies on international bioenergy trade
Most climate change mitigation scenarios rely on increased use of bioenergy to decarbonize the energy system. Here we use results from the 33rd Energy Modeling Forum study (EMF-33) to investigate projected international bioenergy trade for different integrated assessment models across several climate change mitigation scenarios. Results show that in scenarios with no climate policy, international bioenergy trade is likely to increase over time, and becomes even more important when climate targets are set. More stringent climate targets, however, do not necessarily imply greater bioenergy trade compared to weaker targets, as final energy demand may be reduced. However, the scaling up of bioenergy trade happens sooner and at a faster rate with increasing climate target stringency. Across models, for a scenario likely to achieve a 2 °C target, 10–45 EJ/year out of a total global bioenergy consumption of 72–214 EJ/year are expected to be traded across nine world regions by 2050. While this projection is greater than the present trade volumes of coal or natural gas, it remains below the present trade of crude oil. This growth in bioenergy trade largely replaces the trade in fossil fuels (especially oil) which is projected to decrease significantly over the twenty-first century. As climate change mitigation scenarios often show diversified energy systems, in which numerous world regions can act as bioenergy suppliers, the projections do not necessarily lead to energy security concerns. Nonetheless, rapid growth in the trade of bioenergy is projected in strict climate mitigation scenarios, raising questions about infrastructure, logistics, financing options, and global standards for bioenergy production and trade.
Journal Article
Capitalism and conservation
Through a series of case studies from around the world, Capitalism and Conservation presents a critique of conservation's role as a central driver of global capitalism.
* Features innovative new research on case studies on the connections between capitalism and conservation drawn from all over the world
* Examines some of our most popular leisure pursuits and consumption habits to uncover the ways they drive and deepen global capitalism
* Reveals the increase in intensity and variety of forms of capitalist conservation throughout the world
eBook
Redesigning payments for ecosystem services to increase cost-effectiveness
Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) are a widely used approach to incentivize conservation efforts such as avoided deforestation. Although PES effectiveness has received significant scholarly attention, how PES design modifications can improve program outcomes is less explored. We present findings from a randomized trial in Mexico that tested whether a PES contract that requires enrollees to enroll all of their forest is more effective than the traditional PES contract that allows them to choose which forest parcels to enroll. The modification’s aim is to prevent landowners from enrolling only parcels they planned to conserve anyway while leaving aside other parcels to deforest. We find that the full-enrollment treatment significantly reduces deforestation compared to the traditional contract (41% less deforestation;
p
= 0.01). As a result, cost-effectiveness of the PES program quadruples. This result highlights the potential to substantially improve the efficacy of conservation payments through simple contract modifications.
A randomized trial in Mexico finds that requiring Payments for Ecosystem Services participants to enroll all their forest in the program quadruples cost-effectiveness compared to the standard program design that allows for partial enrollment of land.
Journal Article
The impact of an eco-score label on US consumers’ perceptions of environmental sustainability and intentions to purchase food: A randomized experiment
Front-of-package labels indicating a product’s environmental footprint (i.e., eco-score labels) offer promise to shift consumers towards more sustainable food choices. This study aimed to understand whether eco-score labels impacted consumers’ perceptions of environmental sustainability and intentions to purchase sustainable and unsustainable foods. US parents (n = 1,013) completed an online experiment in which they were shown 8 food products (4 sustainable and 4 unsustainable). Participants were randomized to a control (n = 503, barcode on product packaging) or eco-score label group (n = 510, eco-score label on product packaging). The eco-score label was color-coded with a grade of A-F based on the product’s environmental footprint, where “A” indicates relative sustainability and “F” indicates relative unsustainability. Participants rated each product’s environmental sustainability and their future likelihood of purchase. We used multilevel mixed-effects linear regression models and examined moderation by product category and sociodemographic characteristics. The eco-score label lowered perceived sustainability of unsustainable products by 13% in relative terms or -0.4 in absolute terms (95% CI -0.5, -0.3; p<0.001). The eco-score label increased perceived sustainability of sustainable products by 16% in relative terms or 0.6 in absolute terms (95% CI 0.5, 0.7, p<0.001). Effects on purchase intentions were smaller, with a 6% decrease for unsustainable products (p = 0.001) and an 8% increase for sustainable products (p<0.001). For unsustainable products, the effect of eco-score labels on sustainability perceptions was greater for older adults, men, participants with higher educational attainment, and participants with higher incomes. For sustainable products, the effect of ecolabels on sustainability perceptions was greater for those with higher educational attainment. Eco-score labels have the potential to direct consumers towards more sustainable products. Future studies should investigate eco-score label effectiveness on behavioral outcomes.
Journal Article
The amenity migrants: seeking and sustaining mountains and their cultures
Places with perceived high environmental quality and distinctive culture are globally attracting amenity migrants. Today this societal driving force is particularly manifest in mountain areas, and while beneficial for both the new comers and locals, is also threatening highland ecologies and their human communities. This book describes and analyses the challenges and opportunities of amenity migration and its management, and offers related recommendations.The book's chapters cover the subject through case studies at international, regional and local levels, along with overarching themes such as environmental sustainability and equity, mountain recreation users, housing, and spiritual motivation. A crucial issue addressed is the relationship of amenity migration to tourism, and migration motivated by economic gain. The introduction and concluding chapters bring all of the information and analyses together strategically, summarising in a manner of theoretical and practical value for both academics and practitioners.
eBook
Evaluation Theory in Environmental Economics: Territorial Aspect
The desire to assess the value of natural resources led to the emergence of the evaluation theory in environmental economics. However, the lack of a systematic approach to the natural resources evaluation, as well as undefined assessment boundaries hinder the development of the such a theory, including the concepts of ecosystem services and total economic value. Based on the review of relevant scientific publications, the paper aims to analyse the evolution of the evaluation theory in environmental economics, as well as to reveal its general trends and phenomena. The methods of systematisation and content analysis were applied along with evolutionary and regional approaches. The example of the natural resources development in the northern regions was used to trace the evolution of the evaluation theory in Russia. A number of basic trends and phenomena in the development of the examined theory were identified. An axiological (subjective) value has been converging with an objective value of natural resources due to the integration of various assessment factors: 1) utilitarian (early 19th — mid-20th centuries); 2) utilitarian and social, utilitarian and ecological (mid-20th century — the turn of the 20th-21st centuries); 3) utilitarian, social and ecological in aggregate (early 21st century — present day). The evaluation object (territorial aspect) has also been expanded from local assessment to the assessment of the natural resource potential of regions and the world. The paper demonstrates that the evaluation theory in environmental economics, which now considers utilitarian, social and ecological aspects, will continue to develop by creating new paradigms, approaches, methods and techniques for assessing the value of nature resources in order to converge the axiological and objective values.
Journal Article
Agricultural intensification escalates future conservation costs
The supposition that agricultural intensification results in land sparing for conservation has become central to policy formulations across the tropics. However, underlying assumptions remain uncertain and have been little explored in the context of conservation incentive schemes such as policies for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation, conservation, sustainable management, and enhancement of carbon stocks (REDD+). Incipient REDD+ forest carbon policies in a number of countries propose agricultural intensification measures to replace extensive \"slash-and-burn\" farming systems. These may result in conservation in some contexts, but will also increase future agricultural land rents as productivity increases, creating new incentives for agricultural expansion and deforestation. While robust governance can help to ensure land sparing, we propose that conservation incentives will also have to increase over time, tracking future agricultural land rents, which might lead to runaway conservation costs. We present a conceptual framework that depicts these relationships, supported by an illustrative model of the intensification of key crops in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a leading REDD+ country. A von Thünen land rent model is combined with geographic information systems mapping to demonstrate how agricultural intensification could influence future conservation costs. Once postintensification agricultural land rents are considered, the cost of reducing forest sector emissions could significantly exceed current and projected carbon credit prices. Our analysis highlights the importance of considering escalating conservation costs from agricultural intensification when designing conservation initiatives.
Journal Article
The politics of environment in Southeast Asia: resources and resistance
The Politics of Environment in Southeast Asiacharts the emergence of the environment as an issue of public debate in the region. Through a series of case studies the authors explore the coalescence of social forces around environmental issues, the process of alliance formation, and the role of state institutions, media and NGOs in the complex political battles over resource allocation.The volatile tensions between the winners and losers in this struggle for the environment will make Southeast Asia a focus of increased attention.
eBook