Determining the Economic Value of Water

Determining the Economic Value of Water PDF Author: Robert A. Young
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135040524
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 359

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Book Description
Water provides benefits as a commodity for agriculture, industry, and households, and as a public good such as fisheries habitat, water quality and recreational use. To aid in cost-benefit analysis under conditions where market determined price signals are usually unavailable, economists have developed a range of alternative valuation methods for measuring economic benefits. This volume provides the most comprehensive exposition to-date of the application of economic valuation methods to proposed water resources investments and policies. It provides a conceptual framework for valuation of both commodity and public good uses of water, addressing non-market valuation techniques appropriate to measuring public benefits - including water quality improvement, recreation, and fish habitat enhancement. The book describes the various measurement methods, illustrates how they are applied in practice, and discusses their strengths, limitations, and appropriate roles. In this second edition, all chapters have been thoroughly updated, and in particular the coverage of water markets and valuation of ecosystem services from water has been expanded. Robert Young, author of the 2005 edition, has been joined for this new edition by John Loomis, who brings additional expertise on ecosystem services and the environmental economics of water for recreational and other public good uses of water.

Determining the Economic Value of Water

Determining the Economic Value of Water PDF Author: Robert A. Young
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135040524
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 359

Get Book Here

Book Description
Water provides benefits as a commodity for agriculture, industry, and households, and as a public good such as fisheries habitat, water quality and recreational use. To aid in cost-benefit analysis under conditions where market determined price signals are usually unavailable, economists have developed a range of alternative valuation methods for measuring economic benefits. This volume provides the most comprehensive exposition to-date of the application of economic valuation methods to proposed water resources investments and policies. It provides a conceptual framework for valuation of both commodity and public good uses of water, addressing non-market valuation techniques appropriate to measuring public benefits - including water quality improvement, recreation, and fish habitat enhancement. The book describes the various measurement methods, illustrates how they are applied in practice, and discusses their strengths, limitations, and appropriate roles. In this second edition, all chapters have been thoroughly updated, and in particular the coverage of water markets and valuation of ecosystem services from water has been expanded. Robert Young, author of the 2005 edition, has been joined for this new edition by John Loomis, who brings additional expertise on ecosystem services and the environmental economics of water for recreational and other public good uses of water.

Measuring Water Quality Benefits

Measuring Water Quality Benefits PDF Author: V. Kerry Smith
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400942230
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Almost 5 years ago we began working together on research for the U.S. Environmental Protec tion Agency (EPA) to measure the benefits of water quality regulations. EPA had awarded a contract to Research Triangle Inst~ute (RTIl in response to a proposal that Bill wrote on measuring these benefits. After meeting with the EPA project officer, Dr Ann Fisher, the basic outlines of what would become this research were framed. Upon the suggestion of Bob Anderson, then chief of the Benefits Branch at EPA, we selected the Monongahela River as the focal point of a case study that would compare alternative benefit measurement approaches. Exactly how this case study would be done remained vague, but Ann urged that there be a survey and that nonuse benefits be included in the question naire design. Of course, Bill agreed. At the same time, Kerry was independently working on a review article that tied together some of the loose threads in the option value literature. He had also been thinking about how to measure option value, as well as working on ways to generalize the travel cost approach for estimating benefits of site attributes. Glenn Morris at RTI suggested that Bill have lunch with him and Kerry and that they could talk about Bill's research to see if there were any mutual interest. Over the lunch and Bill's ever present dessert in a Chapel Hill restaurant, we found out just how much we have in common.

Clean Coastal Waters

Clean Coastal Waters PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309069483
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 422

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Book Description
Environmental problems in coastal ecosystems can sometimes be attributed to excess nutrients flowing from upstream watersheds into estuarine settings. This nutrient over-enrichment can result in toxic algal blooms, shellfish poisoning, coral reef destruction, and other harmful outcomes. All U.S. coasts show signs of nutrient over-enrichment, and scientists predict worsening problems in the years ahead. Clean Coastal Waters explains technical aspects of nutrient over-enrichment and proposes both immediate local action by coastal managers and a longer-term national strategy incorporating policy design, classification of affected sites, law and regulation, coordination, and communication. Highlighting the Gulf of Mexico's "Dead Zone," the Pfiesteria outbreak in a tributary of Chesapeake Bay, and other cases, the book explains how nutrients work in the environment, why nitrogen is important, how enrichment turns into over-enrichment, and why some environments are especially susceptible. Economic as well as ecological impacts are examined. In addressing abatement strategies, the committee discusses the importance of monitoring sites, developing useful models of over-enrichment, and setting water quality goals. The book also reviews voluntary programs, mandatory controls, tax incentives, and other policy options for reducing the flow of nutrients from agricultural operations and other sources.

OECD Studies on Water Water Quality and Agriculture Meeting the Policy Challenge

OECD Studies on Water Water Quality and Agriculture Meeting the Policy Challenge PDF Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
ISBN: 9264168060
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description
This book examines linking policies and farm management to improve water quality.

Benefits of Water Quality Enhancement

Benefits of Water Quality Enhancement PDF Author: Nelson L. Nemerow
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Onondaga Lake (N.Y.)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


Uncharted Waters

Uncharted Waters PDF Author: Richard Damania
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 9781464811791
Category : Droughts
Languages : en
Pages : 83

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Book Description
Uncharted Waters: The New Economics of Water Scarcity

Economic Benefits Of Improved Water Quality

Economic Benefits Of Improved Water Quality PDF Author: Douglas Greenley
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429705034
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
Until recently, there has been general agreement that improvement and preservation of water quality, though costly, provided economic and social benefits that outweighed the expense. Now, however, some observers are beginning to question whether the costs of the 1972 Water Pollution Control Act may actually exceed those benefits. This book provides answers to some of the questions that have been raised. The authors give measures of several important nonmarket benefits of improved water quality in Colorado's South Platte River Basin and empirically test and confirm the Weisbrod and Krutilla proposals that the general public may be willing to pay for preservation of environmental amenities and that option value and other preservation values must be added to recreation-use values to give an accurate picture of the social benefits of environmental preservation and restoration. Their findings include the fact that even those who do not expect to use the river basin for recreation are willing to pay for the maintenance of a natural ecosystem and to bequest clean water to future generations. The authors also arrive at average amounts households are willing to pay for improved water quality to enhance enjoyment of water-based recreation activities. They suggest that, without such information, it is highly unlikely that sufficient resources will be allocated for the preservation of unique environments and for the improvement of those being degraded.

Water Quality for Ecosystem and Human Health

Water Quality for Ecosystem and Human Health PDF Author: Geneviève M. Carr
Publisher: UNEP/Earthprint
ISBN: 9789295039513
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
This document is intended to provide an overview of the major components of surface and ground water quality and how these relate to ecosystem and human health. Local, regional and global assessments of water quality monitoring data are used to illustrate key features of aquatic environments, and to demonstrate how human activities on the landscape can influence water quality in both positive and negative ways. Clear and concise background knowledge on water quality can serve to support other water assessments.

OECD Studies on Water Water Security for Better Lives

OECD Studies on Water Water Security for Better Lives PDF Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
ISBN: 9264202404
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 173

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Book Description
This publication examines the critical issues surrounding water security (water shortage, water excess, inadequate water quality, the resilience of freshwater systems), providing a rationale for a risk-based approach and the management of trade-offs between water and other policies.

WASH Economics and Financing: towards a better understanding of costs and benefits

WASH Economics and Financing: towards a better understanding of costs and benefits PDF Author: Tristano Sainati
Publisher: IWA Publishing
ISBN: 9781789062465
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
The case for investment in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) has been convincingly made. WASH is essential for protecting public health, is a human right and investing in it is compelling from a fiscal and economic point of view. While the estimated $114 billion per year of capital investments required to meet universal access to safely managed water and sanitation services by 2030 is often portrayed as a hefty price tag, current best estimates of benefit-to-cost ratios leave little doubt about its value. What is less clear is how to allocate resources efficiently. There is limited evidence on the cost efficiency and cost effectiveness of various policy and implementation choices. The underlying drivers of demand for (new) technologies and solutions are, for example, poorly understood, as is beneficiaries’ willingness to pay (WTP), leading to open questions about pricing policies and sustainable business models. This is in contrast to other infrastructure sectors, such as energy and transport, where active literature on the economics and financing of services has been more helpful in defining national and international policy. Our objective with this book is to encourage the WASH sector to follow suit and start to effectively engage and research these issues. At the heart of this book therefore, are chapters which highlight some of the specificities, and challenges of conducting full economic evaluations of WASH interventions, provide a deeper understanding of potential solutions, and present new findings on costs and outcome measures, thereby contributing towards a fuller picture of WASH cost-effectiveness. In Focus – a book series that showcases the latest accomplishments in water research. Each book focuses on a specialist area with papers from top experts in the field. It aims to be a vehicle for in-depth understanding and inspire further conversations in the sector.