Grantee Research Project Results
1999 Progress Report: Market Valuation Models and Ecosystem Management in Making Legal and Policy Choices
EPA Grant Number: R826612Title: Market Valuation Models and Ecosystem Management in Making Legal and Policy Choices
Investigators: Salzman, James
Institution: American University
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: June 1, 1998 through December 31, 1999 (Extended to August 23, 2000)
Project Period Covered by this Report: June 1, 1998 through December 31, 1999
Project Amount: $163,265
RFA: Decision-Making and Valuation for Environmental Policy (1998) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Environmental Justice
Objective:
Despite undeniable progress in environmental protection over the last 25 years, ecosystems remain under threat, buffeted by the systematic undervaluation of decisionmaking processes and the insufficient protections of environmental law. This project seeks to address this compound failure by practical application of recent scientific and economic research on the valuation of ecosystem services. "Ecosystem services" refer to the numerous conditions and processes associated with natural ecosystems that confer significant benefit to humanity. Recent research has now made feasible a rigorous and, in some cases, economic characterization of the ways in which human wellbeing depends upon ecosystem services. These services have been shown to be extraordinarily valuable. The project's working hypotheses are that: (1) while extremely valuable, ecosystem services are generally not explicitly valued in agency decisionmaking procedures; (2) use of nonmonetary valuation methods (i.e., indicators) focused on performance measures of local ecosystem services allows prioritization of agency involvement; and (3) legal authority exists to shift the focus of decisionmaking processes to maintenance of ecosystem services, thereby improving ecosystem management and creating a secondary information market for ecosystem services research.
Empirical research will test the first hypothesis by examining wetlands banking projects to confirm whether they explicitly value ecosystem services. These findings will be combined with nonmarket valuation methodologies, selection of appropriate indicators, and legal analysis to create decisionmaking models addressing ecosystem services in the context of Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) site remediation and wetlands banking.
Progress Summary:
The assessment of ecosystem services has been examined in four settings: wetlands mitigation banking, the Exxon Valdez oil spill restoration, National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) environmental impact statements, and development of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicators of environmental quality. Ecosystem services generally are not considered explicitly, although their value can be captured in some instances by use of "umbrella indicators." The statutory and regulatory authority for ecosystem service protection also has been examined in the context of wetlands banking and CERCLA site remediation; the relevant legislative history has been examined as well.
We have written a report setting out the COPE model developed by Dr. Dennis King. We are using the COPE model to evaluate wetland mitigation banking trades at Little Pine Island, FL. This requires developing prototype indicators that address both biophysical capacity (production of the service) and landscape context (delivery of the service) for the trades as well as a valuation technique.
We have drafts underway for all the tasks described above. Completion is expected in spring 2000.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 14 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
groundwater, watersheds, habitat, cost-benefit, contingent valuation, conservation, public goods., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Economic, Social, & Behavioral Science Research Program, Economics & Decision Making, Economics, decision-making, Social Science, Ecology and Ecosystems, Environmental Law, economic research, public values, economic benefits, public resources, valuing environmental quality, cost benefit, legal and policy choices, ecosystem valuation, wetlands banking, ecosystem management, market valuation models, policy choices, contingent valuation, conservationProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.