scholarly journals Using Ecological Production Theory to Define and Select Environmental Commodities for Nonmarket Valuation

2013 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Boyd ◽  
Alan Krupnick
Keyword(s):  
Systems Approach ◽  
Environmental Valuation ◽  
Nonmarket Valuation ◽  
Production Theory ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Conventional Production ◽  
Environmental Commodities ◽  
Economic Analyses

Economic analyses of nature must somehow define the “environmental commodities” to which values are attached. We articulate principles to guide the choice and interpretation of nonmarket commodities. We describe how complex natural systems can be decomposed consistent with “ecological production theory,” which, like conventional production theory, distinguishes between biophysical inputs, process, and outputs. We argue that a systems approach to the decomposition and presentation of natural commodities can inform and possibly improve the validity of nonmarket environmental valuation studies. We raise concerns about interpretation, usefulness, and accuracy of benefit estimates derived without reference to ecological production theory.

scholarly journals The Urban River Syndrome: Achieving Sustainability Against a Backdrop of Accelerating Change

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 6406
Author(s):  
Martin Richardson ◽  
Mikhail Soloviev
Keyword(s):  
River Restoration ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Similar Type ◽  
Urban River ◽  
Urban Rivers ◽  
River Ecology ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Urban River Restoration

Human activities have been affecting rivers and other natural systems for millennia. Anthropogenic changes to rivers over the last few centuries led to the accelerating state of decline of coastal and estuarine regions globally. Urban rivers are parts of larger catchment ecosystems, which in turn form parts of wider nested, interconnected systems. Accurate modelling of urban rivers may not be possible because of the complex multisystem interactions operating concurrently and over different spatial and temporal scales. This paper overviews urban river syndrome, the accelerating deterioration of urban river ecology, and outlines growing conservation challenges of river restoration projects. This paper also reviews the river Thames, which is a typical urban river that suffers from growing anthropogenic effects and thus represents all urban rivers of similar type. A particular emphasis is made on ecosystem adaptation, widespread extinctions and the proliferation of non-native species in the urban Thames. This research emphasizes the need for a holistic systems approach to urban river restoration.

Anaerobic digestion for sustainable development: a natural approach

2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (10) ◽  
pp. 321-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.J. Gijzen
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Wastewater ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Anaerobic Treatment ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Anaerobic Reactors ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Pre Treatment

After the discovery of methane gas by Alessandro Volta in 1776, it took about 100 years before anaerobic processes for the treatment of wastewater and sludges were introduced. The development of high rate anaerobic digesters for the treatment of sewage and industrial wastewater took until the nineteen-seventies and for solid waste even till the nineteen-eighties. All digesters have in common that they apply natural anaerobic consortia of microorganisms for degradation and transformation processes. In view of this, it could be rewarding to evaluate the efficiency of natural ecosystems for their possible application. Examples of high rate anaerobic natural systems include the forestomach of ruminants and the hindgut of certain insects, such as termites and cockroaches. These “natural reactors” exhibit volumetric methane production rates as high as 35 l/l.d. The development of anaerobic reactors based on such natural anaerobic systems could produce eco-technologies for the effective management of a wide variety of solid wastes and industrial wastewater. Important limitations of anaerobic treatment of domestic sewage relate to the absence of nutrient and pathogen removal. A combination of anaerobic pre-treatment followed by photosynthetic post-treatment is proposed for the effective recovery of energy and nutrients from sewage. This eco-technology approach is based on the recognition that the main nutrient assimilating capacity is housed in photosynthetic plants. The proposed anaerobic-photosynthetic process is energy efficient, cost effective and applicable under a wide variety of rural and urban conditions. In conclusion: a natural systems approach towards waste management could generate affordable eco-technologies for effective treatment and resource recovery.

Natural Systems Approach to Preventing Environmental Harm from Unpaved Roads

2003 ◽  
Vol 1819 (1) ◽  
pp. 210-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Woodrow J. Colbert
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Pollution Prevention ◽  
The United States ◽  
Environmental Harm ◽  
Road Maintenance ◽  
Unpaved Roads ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Funding Program ◽  
Local Officials

In the United States, non-point-source pollution has been documented at more than 11,000 individual sites along the state of Pennsylvania’s 20,000 mi of unpaved roads. This substantiates the fact that traditional road maintenance practices are not addressing dust and sediment pollution. A Dirt and Gravel Road Pollution Prevention Program instigated by concerned citizens, initiated by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and implemented by local county conservation districts has begun implementing an education and funding program that encourages recognition and use of the relentless forces of nature to reduce pollution through enlightened road maintenance objectives and decisions. Referred to as the natural systems approach, this work has application when maintenance decisions are made by nonengineer generalists who can be quickly trained to recognize the indicators of stable vegetation and drainage patterns associated with good and bad road performance. Replicating the stable environments associated with good roads is then a local initiative to treat the problem and not the symptom. Solutions can be accomplished in stages with whatever resources local officials have available. Examples of a few ramifications of traditional decision making together with alternative solutions to them were developed to precipitate discussion. A call has been made to assemble an interdisciplinary task force to further efforts, such as AASHTO’s 2001 Guidelines for Geometric Design of Very Low-Volume Local Roads (ADT < 400), that will relieve pressure on local officials to adhere to traditional decision making, which is based on paved highvolume roads.

Twenty years of systematic physical geography: issues for a 'New Environmental Age'

1992 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm Newson
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Science ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Physical Modelling ◽  
Physical Geography ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Or Applications

This review assesses the role of physical geography in the 'New Environmental Age'; it addresses especially the role of the natural systems approach after 20 years in which this has constituted the main fabric of physical geography in the UK. It also necessarily examines the role of geomorphology, the dominant partner in British physical geography, in positioning the subject as an environmental science. Systems thinking has clearly pervaded pedagogic aspects of physical geography but its full holistic methodology has not provided a coherent disciplinarity in research or applications. A holistic, conservationist perspective has often been disowned by physical geographers, leaving professional environmental applications largely in the hands of applied geomor phology. Now, however, there are major opportunities for a broader physical geography, especially one prepared to re-espouse the social science and humanities aspects of geography whose knowledge-base is so essential to the environmental manager's 'scenario-setting' (as opposed to pure physical modelling). Breadth-versus-depth arguments seem, however, likely to continue in physical geography, with those favouring breadth necessarily becoming environmentalists whilst those retaining depth become less preoccupied by equilibrium conditions of systems, stressing instead discontinuity and natural hiatuses.

State of the Art of Hedonic Pricing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Guignet ◽  
Jonathan Lee
Keyword(s):  
Sample Selection ◽  
Revealed Preference ◽  
Nonmarket Valuation ◽  
Hedonic Pricing ◽  
Omitted Variable Bias ◽  
Hedonic Pricing Method ◽  
Environmental Commodities ◽  
Variable Bias ◽  
Effect Heterogeneity ◽  
Revealed Preference Approach

Hedonic pricing methods have become a staple in the environmental economist’s toolkit for conducting nonmarket valuation. The hedonic pricing method (HPM) is a revealed preference approach used to indirectly infer the value buyers and sellers place on characteristics of a differentiated product. Environmental applications of the HPM are typically focused on housing and labor markets, where the characteristics of interest are local environmental commodities and health risks. Despite the fact that there have been thousands of hedonic pricing studies published, applications of the methodology still often grapple with issues of omitted variable bias, measurement error, sample selection, choice of functional form, effect heterogeneity, and the recovery of policy-relevant welfare estimates. Advances in empirical methodologies, increased quality and quantity of data, and efforts to link empirical results to economic theory will surely further the use of the HPM as an important nonmarket valuation tool.

scholarly journals Coupled human and natural systems approach to wildlife research and conservation

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil H. Carter ◽  
Andrés Viña ◽  
Vanessa Hull ◽  
William J. McConnell ◽  
William Axinn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systems Approach ◽  
Natural Systems

Determinants of Resident Autonomy in Assisted Living Facilities: A Review of the Literature

2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 187-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elzbieta Sikorska-Simmons ◽  
James D. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Assisted Living ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Assisted Living Facilities ◽  
Supportive Services ◽  
Natural Systems

Assisted living (AL) stresses the importance of resident autonomy in the provision of good quality care. Resident autonomy has been linked to better resident well-being, less reliance on supportive services, and greater participation in social activities. Little is known, however, about factors that foster resident autonomy in AL. This article reviews what is currently known about organizational determinants of resident autonomy in AL. The open-natural systems approach to organizational effectiveness, which views organizations in relation to their environment, provides a broad conceptual framework for this analysis. Factors that influence resident autonomy in AL are classified into two categories: (a) external environmental conditions (e.g., ownership status, chain membership, regulatory environment) and (b) internal organizational structures and processes (e.g., facility size, residents’ functional ability, resident social resources, and staff work environment). Environmental conditions represent the most antecedent set of factors that influence resident autonomy, indirectly through their effects on internal organizational structures and processes. Internal organizational factors influence resident autonomy through their impact on policies that enable resident choice and control in the facility. More research is needed to better understand the complex mechanism(s) through which organizational factors influence resident autonomy.

scholarly journals Recreational Activities and Nonmarket Valuation: The Conceptualization Issue

1983 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Stoll
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Nonmarket Valuation ◽  
Benefit Assessment ◽  
Recreational Activities ◽  
Recreation Opportunities ◽  
History Of ◽  
Economic Analyses ◽  
Recreation Benefits ◽  
Over Time

Recreational pursuits have been discussed by economists and others involved in the planning of public sector investment since early in the 1930s. This discussion developed from a peripheral concern to an intense interest as legislative legitimacy was gained for the use of recreational benefit measures to justify public sector investment in multiple purpose river developments. The history of recreation benefit assessment has been adequately discussed elsewhere. In this paper, the justification for inclusion of recreation benefits in economic analyses is not addressed. However, it is worth noting that emphasis has shifted over time from an almost exclusive concern with recreation opportunities provided by development activities to an emphasis upon the recreation opportunities lost in that process as well.

scholarly journals Teori Produksi dalam Islam

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Imroatus Sholiha
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Production Cost ◽  
Revenue Sharing ◽  
Profit Sharing ◽  
Production Theory ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
The People ◽  
Conventional Production ◽  
Theory Of Production

Production is mandatory to meet the needs of the people, so this is the reason why Islam encourages people to utilize the existing natural resources to meet human needs by way of processing and producing it. Islam also regulates how man should be a good producer by referring to the existing production theory in Islamic economics. Therefore the purpose of this article is to provide information, describe or member knowledge to the general public and producers in particular so that it can understand how Islam actually organize and explain the theory of production. And this research is descriptive qualitative research. Descriptive technique used is literature study is to find information through books, journals and others. And the result of his research is that in Islam a producer is given limitations in producing, but not necessarily limited in creativity but a Muslim producer is prohibited to produce unlawful goods. And there are differences in the theory of Islamic production with conventional production theory that is in terms of cost, acceptance and amount of production. If in theory conventional production recognizes the interest pattern in production cost is different with the theory of Islamic production. This theory does not recognize the pattern of interest but which is a cooperation that will end production will be determined for the results of what use revenue sharing, profit sharing or profit and loss sharing depending on the agreement agreed at the beginning of cooperation.

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