Principal-agent Relationships: A Note on Biomass Depletion

Public authorities frequently mandate public or private agencies to manage their renewable natural resources. Contrary to the agency, which is an expert in renewable natural resource management, public authorities usually ignore the sustainable level of harvest. In this note, we first model the contractual relationship between a principal, who owns the renewable natural resource, and an agent, who holds private information on its sustainable level of harvest. We then look for the Pareto-optimal allocations. In the situation of an imperfect information setting, we find that the Pareto-optimal contracting depends on the probability that the harvesting level stands outside the sustainability interval. The information rent held by the agent turns out to be unavoidable, such that stepping outside the sustainability interval implies the possibility of depletion of the renewable natural resource. This, in turn, compromises the maintenance of the ecological balance in natural ecosystems.

Constitutional protection of land in the Slovak Republic

The significant amendment of the Slovak constitution deals with the protection of the land which it newly characterises as a non-renewable natural resource and provides additional legal protection of it. The article analyses the importance of this amendment from multiple perspectives with emphasis on legislative changes it has brought. The main topics of the article are the need for more effective legislation in the area of land protection and also the long-standing need to carry out land consolidations in the Slovak Republic.

Assessing the Sustainability of Thryonomys swinderianus Hunting in Ogoni Land

Background: Thryonomys swinderianus is a renewable natural resource and is a major mammal that constitute what is termed bushmeat in Ogoni land. Between July 2017 and June 2018, 10320Kg of Thryonomys swinderianus meat or 2580 animals were obtained from the wild by hunting. The number of animals removed compared to its population as at June 2017 prompted this study. Aim: The aim of the study is to ascertain the sustainability of this level of harvest in Ogoni land. Methods: The Robinson and Redford model of 1991 was used to assess the sustainability of this harvest in this study. The maximum possible production of Thryonomys swinderianus from July 2017 to June 2018 was 3.5/Km² and the proportion of this production to be harvested sustainably is 2.1/Km² or 8.4Kg/Km². The actual harvest within this period was 2.58/Km² or 10.32Kg/Km². Results: The actual harvest of 2.58/Km² is greater than the maximum sustainable yield of 2.1/Km² and as such, the harvest of 2.58 Thryonomys swinderianus per square kilometer per year is not sustainable in Ogoni land. Conclusion: The unsustainable harvest of Thryonomys swinderianus should as a matter of urgent concern be monitored and regulated. Continuation of this rate of removal will diminish the renewal rate and lead to the extinction of Thryonomys swinderianus in the near future.

Ethics, resource rent, environment and petroleum policy: the case of a small open economy

This paper contributes to the understanding of how the environment, ethics, values, and historical contingencies shape public policy. It explains the accomplishment of petroleum resource management in the small open economy of Norway. The study is conducted by mapping policy decisions and the arguments behind them regarding environmental and ethical issues. This is done by studying available governmental and parliamentary papers along with statements from politicians and central governmental officials. The paper also seeks to illuminate some of the decisions by quantitative measures. The paper firstly describes a model of Ricardian resource rent. Secondly, it investigates the set of values that were in place before the petroleum production started in the 1970s, as described in public documents. An important argument was to build a “qualitatively better society” for the benefit of the people. Thirdly, it traces the historical roots of these values by examining historical sources.The main findings are that success lies in understanding the ethics behind the environmental resource rent harvesting of this non-renewable natural resource. The paper concludes that the focus on the natural environment and resource rent management can be attributed to popular values built on historical traditions. According to them, the state and the trust between the state and its citizens played key roles in shaping the policy. The careful policy can be illustrated by the fact that Norway has managed to build one of the largest sovereign funds in the world worth USD 1,200 billion for use by future generations. Only 3% of its value, significantly less than its historical net profit, should be used annually.

Constructed Technosols: A Strategy toward A Circular Economy

Soil is a non-renewable natural resource. However, the current rates of soil usage and degradation have led to a loss of soil for agriculture, habitats, biodiversity, and to ecosystems problems. Urban and former industrial areas suffer particularly of these problems, and compensation measures to restore environmental quality include the renaturation of dismissed areas, de-sealing of surfaces, or the building of green infrastructures. In this framework, the development of methodologies for the creation of soils designed to mimic natural soil and suitable for vegetation growth, known as constructed soils or technosols, are here reviewed. The possible design choices and the starting materials have been described, using a circular economy approach, i.e., preferring non-contaminated wastes to non-renewable resources. Technosols appear to be a good solution to the problems of land degradation and urban green if using recycled wastes or by-products, as they can be an alternative to the remediation of contaminated sites and to importing fertile agricultural soil. Nevertheless, waste use requires analysis to ensure the salubrity of the starting materials. Moreover, materials produced on site or nearby minimize the cost and the environmental impact of transport, thus the involvement of local stakeholders in the urban land management must be encouraged.

Monitoring the water quality of Jiu River in Dolj County

Water is a renewable natural resource, but vulnerable and limited in terms of quantity and quality, which is why its exploitation must be done rationally, so as to ensure a complex recovery and a balanced distribution, depending on needs. The water management activity, which has as object the establishment and application of measures for rational use and control of water resources, quantitative and qualitative, is closely related to meeting the requirements of current legislation on exploitation and protection of water and aquatic ecosystems. In this context, the present paper presents a study carried out during 2019, having as the main objective the qualitative characterization of the Jiu River on the administrative territory of Dolj County (Romania). For this purpose, several water sampling campaigns (12, one for each month) from three control sections, established in partnership with the Jiu - Craiova Water Basin Administration, were carried out. The collected samples were analyzed in the analytical laboratory of the same institution and, on the basis of the obtained results, also considering the main existing sources of pollution, conclusions were drawn regarding the Jiu River water quality in the analyzed sector. Also, we applied an alternative control method whose purpose was to validate the initial conclusions.

Revaluation of bamboo as biomass

Bamboo is a grassy plant that grows rapidly, is also a renewable natural resource and with a high yield. There are many applications and uses of bamboo, which led to its planting around the world. Among the industries in which bamboo has by now experienced extensive exploitation, we can remember the textile, construction, furniture ; even food, pharmaceutical or cosmetic industries. Biomass is the plant material that is used as a renewable energy resource. This is achieved others by cultivating plants specially used for energy production or by using resistors from small industrial sectors. The current paper highlights the potential for the recovery of bamboo as biomass, both in terms of the fact that bamboo is a plant that is believed to be an inexhaustible resource, but also for the wide amount of rest from its multiple uses.