Water Resources
What is a Watershed and Why Does it Matter?
Over the years, the term “watershed” has evolved from signifying the divide separating one drainage basin from another to the drainage basin itself. A drainage basin or catchment area is a section of land drained by a river and all of its tributaries. Watersheds come in all shapes and sizes, and the U.S. Environmental Protection […]
Read MoreA dynamic approach to PES pricing and finance of interlinked ecosystem services: Watershed conservation and groundwater management
A theory of payment for ecosystem services (PES) pricing consistent with dynamic efficiency and sustainable income requires optimized shadow prices. Since ecosystem services are generally interdependent, this requires joint optimization across multiple resource stocks. We develop such a theory in the context of watershed conservation and groundwater extraction.
Read MoreFinancing Watershed Conservation without Shrinking the Economy
In his recent State-of-the-State address, Governor Abercrombie urged lawmakers to consider either an increase in the conveyance tax on high-priced real estate transactions or a 10-cent fee for single-use plastic checkout bags to finance his watershed protection initiative, “The Rain Follows the Forest,” The proposed taxes, however, have a downside. While they are expected to […]
Read MoreFinancing Watershed Conservation
In November 2011, Governor Abercrombie and State officials launched a watershed protection plan entitled, “The Rain Follows the Forest”. The initiative’s goal is to double the current level of watershed protection – approximately 10% of priority watershed areas throughout Hawai‘i are currently protected – over the next ten years at an estimated cost of $11 million […]
Read MoreThe Economics of Groundwater
We provide synthesis of the economics of groundwater with a focus on optimal management and the Pearce equation for renewable resources. General management principles developed through the solution of a single aquifer optimization problem are extended to the management of multiple resources including additional groundwater aquifers, surface water, recycled wastewater, and upland watersheds. Given an abundant (albeit expensive) substitute, […]
Read MoreEconomic Analysis of the Proposed Rule to Prevent Arrival of New Genetic Strains of the Rust Fungus Puccinia psidii in Hawai‘i
Since its first documented introduction to Hawai‘i in 2005, the rust fungus P. psidii has already severely damaged Syzygium jambos (Indian rose apple) trees and the federallyendangered Eugenia koolauensis (nioi). Fortunately, the particular strain has yet to cause serious damage to ‘ōhi‘a, which comprises roughly 80% of the state’s native forests and covers 400,000 ha. Although the rust has affected less […]
Read MoreOrdering the extraction of renewable resources: The case of multiple aquifers
We provide conditions for optimal use of multiple sources of a renewable resource and characterize the resulting extraction sequence, resource scarcity values, and (single) efficiency price path for two groundwater aquifers and an abundant alternative resource. A numerical simulation for the South O‘ahu aquifer system, which also allows for different distribution costs, illustrates the case […]
Read MoreIslands of Sustainability in Time and Space
We review the economics perspective on sustainable resource use and sustainable development. Under standard conditions, dynamic efficiency leads to sustainability of renewable resources but not the other way around. For the economic‐ecological system as a whole, dynamic efficiency and intergenerational equity similarly lead to sustainability, but ad hoc rules of sustainability may well lead to […]
Read MoreEfficient Management of Coastal Marine Nutrient Loads with Multiple Sources of Abatement Instruments
Pollution management based on marginal abatement costs is optimal only if those abatement costs are specified correctly. Using the example of nitrogen pollution in groundwater, we show that the marginal abatement cost function for any given pollution source can be directly derived from a social-welfare maximization problem, wherein controls include both abatement instruments and inputs […]
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