Grantee Research Project Results
Economic Analysis of Environmental Restoration
EPA Grant Number: U916091Title: Economic Analysis of Environmental Restoration
Investigators: Czajkowski, Jeffrey R.
Institution: Florida International University
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: January 1, 2002 through January 1, 2005
Project Amount: $118,326
RFA: Minority Academic Institutions (MAI) Fellowships for Graduate Environmental Study (2002) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Fellowship - Economics , Academic Fellowships , Environmental Justice
Objective:
The objective of this research project is to conduct and apply appropriate economic analyses, such as the monetary quantification of project benefits, to the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration effort. The results of these analyses should facilitate the evaluation of restoration tradeoffs.
Approach:
The South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Program has been allocated approximately $8 billion in federal and state government funding across 60 major components to achieve its overarching objectives—mitigating the hydrology and water quality; restoring, preserving, and protecting natural habitats; and fostering compatibility of the built and natural systems. However, to date, thorough economic analyses have not been conducted to assess the effectiveness of the proposed projects. It is critical to conduct economic analyses to achieve the optimal balance between ecosystem restoration and economic development. Without such analyses, the proper evaluation of tradeoffs involved in different courses of action becomes nearly impossible, and the future benefit of the proposed $8 billion investment remains relatively unknown. The analysis will focus on the most recent advances in environmental economics applied to one of the restoration projects. I will address the derivation of benefits of groundwater and surface water as they relate to municipal, agricultural, industrial, etc., utilization. Economic models will be developed and combined with available physical water data to calibrate, verify, and validate these models. As a result, the valuation models can be used to predict the monetary benefits of water for the proposed restoration projects. The inherent politics of environmental restoration efforts command numerous tradeoffs to attain the optimal balance between ecosystem restoration and economic development. Economic analysis allows for the proper evaluation of tradeoffs and for the quantification of benefits derived from a taxpayer-funded restoration investment.
Supplemental Keywords:
fellowship, economics, water, Florida, FL, Everglades, restoration tradeoffs, environmental restoration, economic analysis., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Geographic Area, Economic, Social, & Behavioral Science Research Program, Economics & Decision Making, Ecological Risk Assessment, State, decision-making, Social Science, Economics and Business, environmental restoration tradeoffs, Florida, cost benefit, ecosystem valuation, Everglades, environmental decision making, cost-effective ecosysem protection, cost/benefit analysis, community participation, risk communication strategies, consumer perception, decision making, environmental policy, environmental risk assessmentRelevant Websites:
2004 STAR Graduate Fellowship Conference Poster (PDF, 1p., 179KB, about PDF)
Progress and Final Reports:
The 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.