Economics and Ecological Risk Assessment: Applications to Watershed Management

by Randall J. F. Bruins (Editor), Matthew T. Heberling (Editor)

Overview

With contributions from a wide array of economists, ecologists, and government agency professionals, Economics and Ecological Risk Assessment: Applications to Watershed Management provides a multidisciplinary approach to environmental decision-making at a watershed level. It introduces the fields of ecological risk assessment (ERA) and economic analysis and discusses their application to the practice of watershed management. The book presents a general framework for the integration of ERA and economic analysis to improve environmental management in a diversity of watersheds.

Focusing on real-world decisions, this book describes studies conducted in six U.S. watersheds where both ecological and economic analyses were needed. Decision contexts for these studies include negotiations to satisfy Endangered Species Act requirements, natural resource damage assessment, Clean Water Act permitting, and community development planning. The success of ecological-economic integration in each study, and the contribution to decision making, is critically examined.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781566706391
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/28/2004
Series:	Environmental and Ecological Risk Assessment
Pages:	476
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Randall J. F. Bruins, Matthew T. Heberling

Table of Contents

Introduction. Background, Concepts, and Methods. Watershed Planning and Management in the United States. Introduction to Ecological Risk Assessment in Watersheds. A Framework for Risk Analysis for Ecological Restoration Projects in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Appendix 4-A: Example Application of Risk Analysis for a USACE Ecological Restoration Project. Introduction to Economic Analysis in Watersheds. Appendix 5-A: Discussion of Stated Preference Methods Used in Three Case Studies. Ecological and Economic Analysis for Water Quality Standards. Appendix 6-A: Using Multimedia Indices to Define the Integrity of Stream Biological Assemblages and Instream Habitat. Decision-Making and Uncertainty in Ambient Water Quality Management. Scaling Environmental Restoration and Habitat Equivalency Analysis. A Conceptual Approach for Integrated Watershed Management. Appendix 9-A: Discussion of Existing Frameworks that Have Been Applied To Watershed Management. Appendix 9-B: Sociocultural Assessment Methods. Applications. Evaluating Development Alternatives for a High-quality Stream Threatened by Urbanization: Big Darby Creek Watershed. Weighing Biodiversity and Sectoral Development Values in a Rural Valley: Clinch and Powell River Watershed. Appendix 11-A: Random Utility Model. Appendix 11-B: Excerpt from Survey Administered by the University of Tennessee: Explanation of Hypothetical Agricultural Policies and their Potential Impacts. Seeking Solutions for an Interstate Conflict over Water and Endangered Species: Platte River Watershed. Appendix 12-A: Summary of Survey Response Information Used to Calculate Utility of Environmental Management Policy Options for the Central Platte River Floodplain. An Integrated Ecological-Economic Model for Scenario Analysis: Anticipating Change in the Hudson River Watershed. Determining Tradeoffs among Ecological Services: Planning for Ecological Restoration in the Lower Fox River and Green Bay. The Habitat-Based Replacement Cost Method: Building on the Habitat Equivalency Method to Inform Regulatory or Permit Decisions under the Clean Water Act. Conclusions.

Editorial Reviews

"Ecologists would do well to read this book, examine its case studies, and seriously consider their implications for ecological research and assessment."
— Glenn Suter, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

"…This volume, uniquely in my experience, brings together a conceptual framework for combining economic valuation and ecological risk assessment…provides some context for the whole effort within the institutional realities of American environmental management agencies."
— Alan Randall, Department of Agriculture, Environment, and Development Economics, The Ohio State University

From the Publisher