A theoretical and empirical contribution to the quest for sustainability and environmental quality. The book examines the physical and economic aspects of flows of materials and products, as well as the policies and strategies designed to reduce the related resource depletion and environmental pollution. The material-product chain' concept forms a general framework, defined as a system of linked flows of materials and products that support the provision of a certain service. Various economic models of material-product chains are studied, both theoretical and applied, such as static optimisation, dynamic simulation and general equilibrium models. Applications to metals, rain gutters and window frames are described. Audience: Readers in universities, research organizations and policy institutes interested in the environment, economics and government policy.

There is widespread concern for long-term environmental issues in relation to economic processes and developments. Among the concerned scientists are economists, who have taken up the challenge to apply economic insights and tools for the study of long-term environment-economy interactions, and to give the concept of sustainable development 'economic hands and feet'. This book presents a pluralistic perspective on efforts, problems and successes in this area. This collection of papers was originally prepared for an international symposium titled Economic Modelling of Sustainable Development: Between Theory and Practice, which was hosted by the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, on December 20th 1996. The main motivation for this symposium was that the usefulness of the concept of sustainable development for theoretical and applied modelling is still being debated; growth theorists, resource economists, ecological economists, policy makers and many others are trying to deal with the concept in various, and sometimes conflicting, ways. The aim of the symposium was to bring together different theoretical and implementational perspectives on modelling for sustainable development. We hope that this volume will inform a wide audience about the perspectives and progress in this important area of research, as well as stimulate further research, notably on applied modelling and practical methods for the analysis of sustainable development at various (spatial) scales. The papers have, in due course, been revised several times based on comments made by discus sants, referees and the editors."

This book integrates decision-making and environmental science. For ecologists it will bridge the gap to economics. For practitioners in environmental economics and management it will be a major reference book. It probably contains the largest collection available of expressions and basic equations that are used in environmental sciences. The book is organized in disciplines, but it also includes 13 applications that draw on all subjects in the book, and where cross-references are extensively used. The applications show how a range of topics in economics, social sciences and ecology are interrelated when decisions have to be made.

The books provides a timely analysis in support of a paradigm shift in the field of wastewater management, from 'treatment for disposal' to 'treatment for reuse' by offering a variety of value propositions for water, nutrient and energy recovery which can support cost savings, cost recovery, and profits, in a sector that traditionally relies on public funding. The book provides new insights into the economics of wastewater use, applicable to developed and developing countries striving to transform wastewater from an unpleasant liability to a valuable asset and recasting urbanization from a daunting challenge into a resource recovery opportunity. "It requires business thinking to transform septage and sewage into valuable products. A must read for water scholars, policy makers, practitioners, and entrepreneurs". Guy Hutton, Senior Economist, Water and Sanitation Program, Water Global Practice, World Bank "This book provides compelling evidence and real solutions for the new 'resource from waste' approach that is transforming sanitation, boosting livelihoods, and strengthening urban resilience". Christopher Scott, Professor and Distinguished Scholar, University of Arizona "This book shows how innovative business thinking and partnerships around resource recovery and reuse fit well within an inclusive green economy and climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies". Akica Bahri, Coordinator of the African Water Facility, Tunisia, and award-winning researcher

This volume focuses on the interaction between business, the environment, government regulators and technology, describing the greening of industry in the USA, Japan and the EU and the way in which environmental management is being applied. Following a review of the essential role that financial institutions have to play in this field, the book concludes with an examination of the way in which the regulators are also having to change in order to meet the dual challenge of environmental improvement and the drive for increased industrial competitiveness.

Professor Max Krott, Director of the Institute of Forest Policy and Nature Conservation at the University of Gottingen, Germany, introduces the most important political players and stakeholders, including the forest owners, the general population, forest workers and employees, forest associations and administration, as well as the media. He illustrates the political and regulatory instruments using examples in current forest policy. 'Forest Policy Analysis' places a special emphasis on the informal processes that are indispensable in understanding practical politics. References made to current English and German-language publications on forest policy studies enable further information to be found with concern to special issues."

This book contains up-to-date studies on the economics of sustainable energy in agriculture. The studies focus on energy efficiency improvement and the use of biomass. Specific attention is paid to the economic aspects of land use and the competition for land, both for food production and dedicated energy crops. The book will be of special interest to economists, agronomists, energy experts, and politicians that deal with energy issues in agriculture, both in developing and industrialised countries.

The book is relevant for those who are interested in the topic of global warming and carbon sequestration, and the transition towards carbon-free energy resources.

Oil, gas and minerals are vital natural resources which meet crucial human needs. Modern civilisation would struggle to survive without readily available access to these resources at reasonable and affordable prices. This volume provides critical insights into the dynamic processes of conflict and cooperation in relation to oil, gas and minerals, recognising that there is no easy and clear separation between areas of cooperation and of conflict and that these relations co-exist in complex and continually evolving ways. The contributors argue that the nature of conflict and cooperation is increasingly being shaped by the shift towards state capitalism in many parts of the resource-producing world.

Lessons from the Great Recession: At the Crossroads of Sustainability and Recovery examines global cases of environmental sustainability and economics in the context of nations from multi-disciplinary perspectives. The book discusses the high costs of decisions taken in response to the recent economic crises, which as a result have created a lack of investment in environmental and developmental considerations. This volume analyses the problems faced globally as economies try to build a sustainable future in the aftermath of the 'Great Recession'. The book observes concepts of sustainability in the post-recession and post-bailout world around aspects such as Fiscal / economic / social sustainability; Financial sustainability (sector risks etc.); Environmental sustainability. Chapters scrutinise the relationships between nations and supra state agencies such as the UN, EU, IMF etc. in the context of economic crises.

This is the second volume of papers in the topical area of environmental management. Arising from work done by the International Centre for the Environment at the University of Bath, the papers address inter-disciplinary environmental themes particularly from a business and management perspective.

Environmental Taxation and the Double Dividend explores the welfare effects of environmental taxes in a second-best framework. It starts from a benchmark model which reveals that environmental taxes typically exacerbate pre-existing tax distortions, even if the revenues are used to cut other distortionary taxes. Subsequent chapters extend the benchmark model by introducing capital, terms of trade effects, transfers, involuntary unemployment, or environmental feedbacks. Thus, the book reveals several channels through which a double-dividend can be obtained. However, it also shows the trade-offs they induce. Simulations with the models illustrate the importance of these trade-offs for European economies.

This book is a useful tool for graduates, post graduates, researchers and staff of universities with fiscal and environmental departments. International organizations such as the IMF, OECD and the World Bank, and policy makers within governments: Ministries of Finance/Economics/Environment. Research Institutes, both private and public will also benefit from this piece of work.

The Second Edition of Economics of Water Resources: From Regulation to Privatization updates and expands the exposition of the authors' central theses concerning: the integration of water quantity-quality issues, and the treatment of water as a multi-product commodity, with the market playing the major role in the determination of water quality-discrimination pricing; the drawbacks of public control, regulation and enforcement, and the need to expand privatization of water supply and of water and wastewater treatment facilities to ensure their appropriate, adequate, development and modernization through increased reliance on private capital; the unification and centralization of water management at river basin level in order to handle effectively the expanding pressures for water availability, for the evaluation of waterborne disease, for extensive and effective pollution abatement as well as for coping with the related issues of soil erosion, siltation in streams, channels and reservoirs, protection against stress from drought and floods, and with myriad problems relating to the environment, recreation and navigation. While expanding and updating the underlying data, the authors maintain the basic division of the book into four parts. Part I presents the conceptual framework within which are examined the interacting elements in the management of water resources and the role of market in water pricing and in quality-graded quantity of water. Part II focuses on water quality control, on the nature and impact of pollution, on water recycling and reuse, and on the prevailing policy instruments. Part III points to the deficiencies of engineering solutions in the choice of publicexpenditures needed for the construction of water systems and stresses the role of privatization and of centralization at the level of river basins. Part IV underlines the need for coordinating all supply programs, projected demand, recycling and reuse. Economics of Water Resources: From Regulation to Privatization probes the fundamental concepts concerning the regulation and privatization of water resources, of water pricing, of public policies concerning the allocation of water supplied to users, and examines all of the issues involved in a truly market-determined framework. It aims to inform and prepare all persons interested in the study and management of water problems. The book can be used in courses on water resource management and planning, economics of water resources, or as a basic reference work on water resources in general.

Providing useful insights on the use of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) in natural resource management, this book examines a number of empirical applications for several countries and a variety of natural resources. It is shown that using MCDA in the management of water, forestry, wetland and other natural resources can substantially improve the design and implementation of natural resource and environmental policies. Stakeholder involvement is also an important determinant of successful resource management and MCDA provides a useful and effective framework for getting stakeholders involved in resource management decisions. Using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis in Natural Resource Management gives in-depth analysis of the potential problems in applying these techniques, including difficulties eliciting required information, lack of suitable measures for environmental variables and the need to develop innovative methods to simplify the use of MCDA.

By examining the issues of environmental policy formation and implementation linked to economic development, and reviewing the Japanese experiences and the examples of other Asian countries, this book reveals factors of dynamism between environmental policy and social change in a domestic, regional and global context.

An efficient air transport system is critical to countries attaining and sustaining healthy economies in an increasingly interconnected world economy. Competing successfully now means quick shipping over long distances at reasonable rates. Societies also prosper when people from different countries can travel around the world using efficient transport. This volume includes literature surveys and original empirical research examining airline efficiency in the twenty first century. Topics cover airline productivity, sources of airline efficiency, the cost and scope of operations in airline transport; airline productivity for different global regions; methodologies estimating productivity growth and efficiency. Further chapters on sources of airline efficiency examine fuel efficiency differences, efficiency in different stages of production, and the contributions of technological change, mergers, and low-cost carrier competition to efficiency. Chapters on the cost and scope of operations examine all-cargo carrier efficiency, gains from airline/high speed-rail cooperation, and airport economies of scope in passenger and freight operations.

This book is a compendium of case studies illustrating how economic tools and techniques can be used to address a wide range of problems in the management and conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems in a developing country context. The studies, which were conducted with support from the Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA), cover topics such as mobilizing conservation finance from beneficiaries of marine and coastal ecosystem services; quantifying ecosystem damage and its impact on dependents of ecosystem resources and services; determining the best package of policy reforms that put a price on pollution and regulate economic activities generating pollution with the goal of restoring coastal and marine resources; and analyzing community-based institutions that support sustainable management of fisheries and coastal resources. Studies in the book also provide general guidelines for conducting economic appraisals. It is essential reading for teachers, researchers, students and practitioners in fishery economics, economic development, ecosystem management, and other key issues facing policymakers in the Southeast Asian region.

This thought-provoking and colorful book cuts through the fog of vision and advocacy by comparing and applying new quantitative tools of both environmental and ecological economics. Environmental accounts and empirical analyses provide operational concepts and measures of the sustainability of economic performance and growth. The text raises doubts, however, about the measurability of sustainable development. Further reading sections are provided at the end of each chapter.

What is balanced growth? This book shows that the definitions and implications of the concept of balanced growth vary significantly among the different disciplines in economic science, but are not exclusive at all.

Terms such as sustainability" "or balanced growth" "have become buzzwords. In practice, they are often a desirable vision rather than an achievable objective. Why? Doubts may arise about the extent to which such concepts are compatible with a modern market economy. Is balanced growth possible at all? Is it reasonable to accept balanced growth as a norm? Why should a balanced growth path be a desirable strategy to pursue for policymakers, managers, employees, and other societal stakeholders? Empirical evidence suggests that the actual worldwide economic growth is not balanced at all. Meanwhile, ever since the beginning of the financial and economic crisis in 2007 and its accompanying spillover effects, our globalizing world has uncompromisingly shown the flip side of its coin. Its crisis-prone character has intensified the discussion about our economic system's sustainability. Questions related to acceptable sovereign debt levels, suitable trade deficits and surpluses, firms' growth targets, resource management and efficiency have aroused high interest. What is the cause of the observed imbalances? In our opinion, this debate must involve rethinking the qualitative and quantitative dimension of our present understanding of the nature of economic growth.

This book accompanies the 9th DocNet Management Symposium of the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. It contains contributions of the symposium's panel speakers, renowned authors to the field and young researchers. The Ph.D. students' and post-doctoral association DocNet organizes the DocNet Management Symposium on a yearly basis with the goal to foster exchange between academia and practitioners.

Meta-analysis is a formal synthesis of results and findings of scientific studies, which can assist in gaining new insights, explaining differences between results of similar studies, or determine useful directions of research. In this book we focus on the use of meta-analysis in environmental economics and related fields of study. The first part of the book covers the overall meta-approach methodology for social sciences and economics in particular. This is followed by technical and non-technical discussions of statistical and rough-set techniques for analysis. At appropriate places this is supplemented with reviews of applications in environmental economics and related fields. In the second part of the book a number of case studies show different aspects of the application of meta-analysis. The research areas considered include, among others, tourism multipliers, air pollution valuation, risk and value of life, pesticide price policy, travel time savings, and transport externality and policy issues. The benefits of the appropriate application of meta-analysis in environmental economics are a better use of existing information and knowledge, removal of some of the subjectivity from analysis and forecasting, and greater clarity as to where future efforts in environmental economic analysis can most gainfully be deployed.

The book is written in the backdrop of the environmental impacts of and future requirements from the natural environment for rapid economic growth that has characterized recent economic history of China and India, especially over the past few decades. The environmental impacts of such rapid economic changes have been, more frequently than otherwise, degrading in character. Environmental impacts of economic activities create degraded natural ecosystems by over utilization of nature's provisioning ecosystem services (from Himalaya to the Ocean), as well, by the use of the natural environment as sink for dumping of unmarketable products or unused inputs of economic activities. Such processes affect wide range of ecosystem processes on which the natural environment including human population depend on. Critical perspectives cast by various chapters in this book draw attention to the various ways in which space and power interact to produce diverse geographies of sustainability in a globalizing world. They also address the questions such as who decides what kind of a spatial arrangement of political power is needed for sustaining the environment. Who stands to gain (or lose) what, when, where, and why from certain geographical areas being demarcated as ecologically unique, fragile and vulnerable environments? Whose needs and values are being catered to by a given ecosystem service? What is the scope for critical inquiry into the ways in which the environment is imagined, represented and resisted in both geopolitical struggles and everyday life? The book provides insights to both academics from diverse disciplines and policy makers, civil society actors interested in mutual exchange of knowledge between China and India.

Die "Konvention uber die biologische Vielfalt", ein Ergebnis der Konferenz der Vereinten Nationen fur Umwelt und Entwicklung (UNCED) 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, hat die verschiedenen internationalen Naturschutzbemuhungen erstmals auf eine umfassende, globale Grundlage gestellt. Die unterzeichnenden Staaten verpflichten sich die biologische Vielfalt der Erde zu schutzen und gleichzeitig nachhaltig zu nutzen. Eine der Nutzungen, die Auswirkungen auf die globale Biodiversitat haben, ist der Tourismus. Hier werden am Beispiel vorwiegend europaischer Kustenregionen, den Hauptzentren des Tourismus, Konflikte zwischen Naturschutz und touristischer Nutzung erlautert und Losungsansatze zur Minimierung von Konflikten vorgestellt.

Carbon Capture and Storage technologies (CCS) are moving from experiment toward commercial applications at a rapid pace, driven by urgent demand for carbon mitigation strategies. This book examines the potential role of CCS from four perspectives: technology development, economic competitiveness, environmental and safety impacts, and social acceptance. IEK-STE of Forschungszentrum Juelich presents this interdisciplinary study on CCS, based on methods of Integrated Technology Assessment. Following an introductory chapter by editor Wilhelm Kuckshinrichs, Part I of the book surveys the status of carbon capture technologies, and assesses the potential for research and development of applications that are useful at scales required for meaningful mitigation. Transportation, Utilization and Environmental Aspects of CO2 receive chapter-length treatments, and the section concludes with an examination of safe geological storage of CO2 based on the example of the Ketzin pilot site, not far from Berlin. Part II covers Economic and Societal Perspectives. The first chapter discusses the use of CCS in the energy sector, analyzing costs associated with electricity generation and CO2 mitigation on the basis of technology-specific cost and process parameters, along with a merit-order illustration of the possible implications of CCS facilities for energy costs. Later chapters outline the costs of CCS application in energy- and CO2-intensive industries; analyze system characteristics of CCS infrastructures, showing that the infrastructure cost function depends on the ratio of fixed to variable costs, as well as on the spatial distribution of CO2 sources and storage facilities; interpret cross-sector carbon mitigation strategies and their impacts on the energy and CO2 balance; and discuss awareness and knowledge of CCS, attitudes towards it, and how the risks and benefits of CCS are perceived. Part III discusses the Framework for Energy and Climate Policy, with chapters on acceptance and adoption of CCS policy in Germany, and the EU, and an assessment of international cooperation in support of CCS. The final chapter summarizes the central arguments, discusses the potential role of carbon capture and utilization as part of a German transformation strategy, and extrapolates the findings to European and international contexts.

Nicolas Buclet and Olivier Godard In terms of economic scale, waste management is one of the two most important environmentally oriented sectors. 1 It stands at the cross-roads in the material organization of society, resource management, changing lifestyles and consumption patterns, and ecological issues. For many years waste management has been perceived as aresources and health issue, confined mainly to dense urban areas, and not an environmental issue. In contemporary affiuent societies, however, the scale reached by waste flows, the inheritance of accumulated deposits in soils from the waste of previous generations and increasing levels of public concern about environmental proteetion and quality of life have all conspired to impose a fresh look at what waste really implies for a modern society. We are obliged to focus our attention on such questions as how the circulation of matter is at present organized by society and can be modified and controlled if economic development is to become more environmentally sustainable. This is the period we live in. Significant changes in waste management in European countries have been introduced during the last decade or so. To some extent the transition between traditional regimes mainly based on local disposal and new regimes based on a revised organisation of flows of waste matter is still in the making, involving new attitudes, new activities, new technologies and new incentives, reducing the pressure on virgin natural resources and eliminating the huge dissipation of various pollutants into the environment.

Why are some international regimes more effective or more successful than others? This book presents sophisticated studies of regime effectiveness, and a sophisticated analysis of the range of techniques available for the conduct of research in this area. One useful feature of the book is the consideration of broader consequences of regimes as well as their performance in addressing the specific problems that lead to their creation.

This volume examines the environmental issues currently under debate in the international arena. The text approaches the topic at a conceptual level, and from an interdisciplinary viewpoint. It analyses the roles of key players in environmental policy, the nation state, non-governmental organizations and the business community. It continues with an examination of the importance of international relations (trade, east, west, north, south), and goes on to consider the prospects for sustainable development and social changes required for sustainable development to become a reality.