Environment
Publication: Renewable Resource Management with Stock Externalities: Coastal Aquifers and Submarine Groundwater Discharge
We model coastal groundwater management and its effects on submarine groundwater discharge, nearshore marine water quality, and marine biota. Incorporating the stock externality effects on nearshore resources increases the optimal sustainable steady-state levels of both the aquifer head and the stock of a keystone native algae species. Numerical simulations are illustrated using data from the […]
Read MoreOptimal Provision and Finance of Ecosystem Services: the Case of Watershed Conservation and Groundwater Management
Payments for ecosystem services should be informed by how both the providing-resource and the downstream resource are managed. We develop an integrated model that jointly optimizes conservation investment in a watershed that recharges a downstream aquifer and groundwater extraction from the aquifer. Volumetric user-fees to finance watershed investment induce inefficient water use, inasmuch as conservation […]
Read MoreOptimal and Sustainable Groundwater Extraction
With the specter of natural hazard resilience, groundwater scarcity looms as an increasingly critical issue worldwide. Minimizing the adverse effects of scarcity requires optimal as well as sustainable patterns of groundwater management. We review the many sustainable paths for groundwater extraction from a coastal aquifer and show how to find the particular sustainable path that […]
Read MoreOptimal Management of a Hawaiian Coastal Aquifer with Near-Shore Marine Ecological Interactions
We optimize groundwater management in the presence of marine consequences of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD). Concern for marine biota increases the optimal steady-state head level of the aquifer. The model is discussed in general terms for any coastal groundwater resource where SGD has a positive impact on valuable near-shore resources. Our application focuses of the Kona Coast of Hawai’i, […]
Read MoreAn Economic Assessment of Biological Control for Miconia calvescens in Hawaii
Biocontrol, the introduction of organisms to control an unwanted species, has been cited as a powerful method to manage the invasive species Miconia calvescens in Hawaii. In addition to ecological advantages, biocontrol is often regarded as less costly than traditional methods despite the large initial investment. Currently, miconia in Hawaii is treated through aerial and manual operations, […]
Read MoreUHERO Researchers contribute to Sustainability Science
UHERO is proud to announce the forthcoming Sustainability Science for Watershed Landscapes edited by UHERO’s own Dr. Jim Roumasset, Dr. Kimberly Burnett, and Dr. Arsenio Balisacan of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Sustainability science integrates traditional interdisciplinary environmental studies with policy science. In this volume authors go beyond the application of scientific knowledge to specific problems and develop new methods for dealing with […]
Read MoreMegan Chock wins Honors Research awards
Megan Chock, an undergraduate intern with UHERO since 2007, won the top award in every category at the UH Honors Spring Research Symposium held Saturday April 24, 2010. Mentored by Dr. Kimberly Burnett, Megan won best Social Sciences Poster, best Social Sciences Oral Presentation, and Best Overall Symposium participant for her research on the economics […]
Read MoreSpatial Economic Analysis of Early Detection and Rapid Response Strategies for an Invasive Species
Economic impacts from invasive species, conveyed as expected damages to assets from invasion and expected costs of successful prevention and/or removal, may vary significantly across spatially differentiated landscapes. We develop a spatial-dynamic model for optimal early detection and rapid response (EDRR) policies, commonly exploited in the management of potential invaders around the world, and apply […]
Read MoreWither The Economics of Agricultural Development?
In spite of healthy demand for a renaissance in economic policy for agricultural development, the academic supply response is found wanting. The infusion of public economics into the economics of agricultural development, which thrived during the 1970s and 80s, has stagnated due to the lack of foundations in transaction costs, dynamics, and the co-evolution of […]
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