scholarly journals Estimating the Sustainability of Managed Natural Forests in Costa Rica—A Hybrid Delphi & Choice Experiment Approach

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 832 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Salas-Garita ◽  
Mario Soliño
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Production Performance ◽  
Managed Forests ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Post Evaluation ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Sustainability Principles

Management of natural forests in Costa Rica allows timber extraction in so far as it is guaranteed that the logging activities comply with diverse Sustainability Principles, Criteria and Indicators (PCIs). These are hierarchical and complex systems used, ex-ante in the formulation and approval of the Management Plan but have not been used for ex-post evaluation of managed forests. Development of sustainability evaluation systems that include few criteria is highly recommended. In that sense, the choice experiments contribute to simplification of the initial system of decision making, complementing a complex system of PCIs that permits detailed analysis of the management units. In this study, a choice experiment was included in a Delphi application and 5 key variables were identified to evaluate the sustainability of managed natural forests. These variables are, in order of importance—technical, legal and administrative conditions; external financing conditions; production performance; costs of preparing the Management Plan; and payment mechanisms for environmental services. The definition of these variables confirms not only that the technical, legal and administrative conditions are critical for sustainability but also that they could reflect the type of governance involved in sustainability forest management.

Backtesting Stochastic Mortality Models: An Ex-Post Evaluation of Multi-Period Ahead-Density Forecasts

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Dowd ◽  
Andrew J. G. Cairns ◽  
David P. Blake ◽  
Guy Coughlan ◽  
David Epstein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stochastic Mortality ◽  
Post Evaluation ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Stochastic Mortality Models ◽  
Mortality Models ◽  
Density Forecasts

scholarly journals A Cultural Heritage Low Entropy Enhancement Approach: An Ex Post Evaluation of Creative Practices

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2765
Author(s):  
Maria Cerreta ◽  
Gaia Daldanise ◽  
Eleonora Giovene di Girasole ◽  
Carmelo Maria Torre
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Urban Transformation ◽  
Italian Case ◽  
Post Evaluation ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Innovative Management ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Landscape Heritage ◽  
Low Entropy ◽  
New Strategies

According to the current European and Italian scenario related to urban regeneration, cultural and landscape heritage valorization is being enhanced by the activation of innovative processes and new emerging approaches. These involve the development of methodologies and tools that can address decision-making processes based on creative practices consistent with a concept named “low-entropy economy” in this paper. The low-entropy economy represents an economic approach based on the minimization of physical urban transformation and the enhancement of the existing heritage. In this perspective, the research aims to develop the Cultural Heritage Low Entropy Enhancement (CHLEE) approach by exploring how some frugal experiences have promoted cultural heritage enhancement and related complex values through a program of temporary uses and activities able to produce new values, where the human experience is essential. A crucial role is represented by the heterogeneity of creative practices that contribute to identifying and implementing innovative management and governance models. The analysis of creative practices, based upon the ex post evaluation of some Italian case studies across the PROMETHEE-GAIA multicriteria method, is able to show how these experiences build innovation ecosystems and improve the ex ante evaluation for new strategies and policies, underlining strengths, weaknesses, and milestones that shape creative experiences as drivers of urban competitiveness.

Better Regulation – An Ongoing Journey

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 378-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Chase ◽  
Adam Schlosser
Keyword(s):  
Good Governance ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Regulatory Process ◽  
Post Evaluation ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Better Regulation ◽  
Regulatory Measures ◽  
Guidance Needs ◽  
Key Aspects

The Commission's new Better Regulation package represents a step forward in the European Union’s decade–long journey to bringing coherence and rationality to its legislative and regulatory process. But as the Communication on the package itself suggests, the journey is far from over.The Communication consistently emphasizes the key aspects of good regulation: quality over quantity; taking time to get proposals right; evidence–based decision making; open and continuous consultation to gather evidence from all stakeholders; rigorous impact assessments and cost–benefit analysis; applying these tools to regulatory measures as well as legislation; and implementing a robust ex–post evaluation program. It is important as well that the Secretariat General published unified and detailed guidance for Commission officials on how each step of the regulatory process should work, with a “tool–box” to elaborate further on these steps.All of this is good. Yet in some areas, the Commission misses opportunities to go farther down the good governance road, and in others the guidance needs to be made much more explicit.

scholarly journals Opportunity cost of natural forest management in the Arenal-Huetar Norte Conservation Area, Costa Rica

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Zúñiga-Méndez ◽  
Victor Meza-Picado ◽  
Sebastian Ugalde-Alfaro ◽  
Jhonny Méndez-Gamboa
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Opportunity Cost ◽  
Natural Forest ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Landscape Matrix ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Productive Activities ◽  
Natural Forest Management

Abstract Background: Part of the success of forest conservation programs is due to the economic sustainability they can provide to owners of forest resources, and how these management mechanisms can be used within an increasingly aggressive productive landscape matrix. However, there are currently no precise or up-to-date data on the economic relationships between land uses and their respective productive activities. This study designed a model to evaluate the opportunity cost of natural forest management, taking as a reference the primary productive activities that take place within the Arenal-Huetar Norte Conservation Area, in Costa Rica. Methods: Profitability data from 24 sites in natural forests with a forest management plan approved by the State Forest Administration was used, as well as geographic and productive information on alternative land uses. Results: Based on these data, an opportunity cost map was generated which shows a marked segregation of the forests into two main areas: a) a high-opportunity cost area, located south of the study area; and b) a medium-low opportunity cost area, to the center-north of the study area. Conclusions: It is concluded that ideal areas for timber harvesting are currently restricted to places far from the market, and with low opportunity costs (ranging between ≤ $0 ha -1 year -1 and $500 ha -1 year -1 ).

scholarly journals Understanding the Reasons behind the Energy Performance Gap of an Energy-Efficient Building, through a Probabilistic Approach and On-Site Measurements

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (19) ◽  
pp. 6178
Author(s):  
Pierryves Padey ◽  
Kyriaki Goulouti ◽  
Guy Wagner ◽  
Blaise Périsset ◽  
Sébastien Lasvaux
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Probabilistic Approach ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Performance Gap ◽  
Post Evaluation ◽  
Energy Efficient Buildings ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Energy Efficient Building

The performance gap, defined as the difference between the measured and the calculated performance of energy-efficient buildings, has long been identified as a major issue in the building domain. The present study aims to better understand the performance gap in high-energy performance buildings in Switzerland, in an ex-post evaluation. For an energy-efficient building, the measured heating demand, collected through a four-year measurement campaign was compared to the calculated one and the results showed that the latter underestimates the real heating demand by a factor of two. As a way to reduce the performance gap, a probabilistic framework was proposed so that the different uncertainties of the model could be considered. By comparing the mean of the probabilistic heating demand to the measured one, it was shown that the performance gap was between 20–30% for the examined period. Through a sensitivity analysis, the active air flow and the shading factor were identified as the most influential parameters on the uncertainty of the heating demand, meaning that their wrong adjustment, in reality, or in the simulations, would increase the performance gap.

scholarly journals A Drop in the Ocean: Patchy Evidence on the Societal Benefits of Marine Litter Reduction

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Stoever ◽  
Katrin Rehdanz ◽  
Ikechukwu Charles Okoli
Keyword(s):  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Marine Strategy Framework Directive ◽  
Marine Litter ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Post Evaluation ◽  
Societal Benefits ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Key Characteristics ◽  
The Eu

The benefits of marine litter reduction to society, which are mostly non-market ones, need to be valued and quantified in monetary terms to be included in cost benefit analyses required by the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. This article investigates the extent to which these benefits can be derived from existing studies. We review the available empirical evidence and analyze its key characteristics based on descriptive statistics. Comparing the availability of estimates with the requirements for the EU Member States, we find a striking mismatch between the data available and the information required, which cannot be alleviated by benefit transfer. This finding is valid for both, ex-ante and ex-post, evaluation attempts. We conclude that the evidence available at present is too patchy to derive country-wide policy implications to the extent necessary to comprehensively conduct the evaluations required by the Directive.

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