RFF The Natural World

Event: Managing the World?s Forests

At a November 5th seminar, experts discussed challenges in forest data, new research, and the role of forest carbon in evolving U.S. climate change legislation. Video and audio available.

U.S. Emissions Trading Markets for SO2 and NOx

Liability in the Space Business

If a privately owned rocket falls to the ground after being launched under government auspices, who pays for the damages? The answer to that question, which will influence the development of future commercial space enterprises, is explored by RFF researchers in a new discussion paper.

Shaping the Future of America?s Outdoor Resources

Press Release: A new RFF study delves into the status of America?s outdoor resources, the demand for recreation, and the financing of conservation, parks, and open space.

The State of the Great Outdoors: America's Parks, Public Lands, and Recreation Resources

Linking Ecological Science and Economic Preferences

In a new RFF Discussion Paper, Senior Fellows James Boyd and Alan Krupnick examine a key conceptual issue central to effective interdisciplinary collaboration between economists and ecologists.

More Than a Wing and a Prayer: Government Indemnification of the Commercial Space Launch Industry

To Bribe or Not to Bribe: Incentives to Protect Tanzania?s Forests

Some Limits of Wood Biomass for Cellulosic Biofuels

The Definition and Choice of Environmental Commodities for Nonmarket Valuation

Water Supply and Poor Communities: What?s Price Got to Do with It?

Could Uncertain Forest Inventories Hinder Carbon Markets?

Incongruities in national forest measures from across the globe could present a stumbling block for the development of international forest policy, says Paul Waggoner.

The Economic Valuation of Environmental Amenities and Disamenities: Methods and Applications

Sampling Out: Regulatory Avoidance and the Total Coliform Rule

Comparing Price and Non-price Approaches to Water Conservation

Reduced-form vs. Structural Models of Water Demand under Non-linear Prices

The Impact of the ?Right to Know?: Information Disclosure and the Violation of Drinking Water Standards

Water Demand under Alternative Price Structures

Thirsty Colonias: Rate Regulation and the Provision of Water Service

A New Approach to Reforming the National Flood Insurance Program

Commentary: Adding a federal community flood insurance option could increase coverage, spread risk, and lower premiums, says RFF resident scholar Leonard Shabman.

U.S. Land Retirement Programs Harvest Benefits

Jeffrey Ferris and Juha Siikam?ki review the history and outcomes of the Conservation Reserve Program and Wetlands Reserve Program.

Forest Inventories: Discrepancies and Uncertainties

Conservation Reserve Program and Wetland Reserve Program: Primary Land Retirement Programs for Promoting Farmland Conservation

Voluntary Environmental Regulation in Colombia

In a recent RFF Report, Senior Fellow Allen Blackman and his colleagues examine voluntary environmental agreements in Colombia, finding that although they have had limited environmental benefits, they have helped build capacity in environmental management.

Managing Partially Protected Resources under Uncertainty

Farmers' Preferences for Crop Variety Traits: Lessons for On-Farm Conservation and Technology Adoption

Estimating Time-varying Bargaining Power: A Fishery Application

Ecosystems and Climate: Managing Change

The challenges facing terrestrial ecosystems in a warming climate are daunting, according to an RFF Report that explores policies and perspectives on making nature more resilient in the face of climate stress.

Current Policy and Legal Issues Affecting Recreational Use of Public Lands in the American West

Achieving Efficient Coordination and Acceptance in Fishery Reform

In a June 29 commentary, Robert Deacon discusses how a policy of assigning fishery harvest rights to groups rather than individuals can achieve gains from coordination that other rights-based management regimes fail to capture.

Overseeing International Forest Conservation Programs

With Congress designing plans to manage international forest conservation, a key question arises?who should be in charge? In a new issue brief, RFF?s Nigel Purvis, Ray Kopp, and Andrew Stevenson offer their suggestion.

Voluntary Environmental Agreements in Developing Countries: The Colombian Experience

Managing Climate-Related International Forest Programs: A Proposal to Create the International Forest Conservation Corporation

Coastal and Marine Environments: Adapting to Climate Change

A new report assesses policy options for addressing climate change impacts on marine and coastal resources. The study is part of a series on U.S. climate adaptation policy being released by RFF.

Terrestrial Ecosystem Adaptation

Climate Change and U.S. Agricultural Policy

More than most sectors, agriculture will feel the impacts of climate change. A new RFF report explores the role for public policy in helping U.S. farmers and ranchers as they develop practices to counter inevitable changes in temperature, rainfall, growing seasons, and soil conditions.

Agriculture and the Food System: Adaptation to Climate Change

An Adaptation Portfolio for the United States Coastal and Marine Environment

Emerging Climate Change Impacts on Freshwater Resources: A Perspective on Transformed Watersheds

Prioritizing Investments for Improved Biodiversity Conservation Outcomes

In a June 15 commentary, Juha Siikam?ki and Stephen Newbold discuss approaches to improving the cost-effectiveness of biodiversity conservation through better prioritization of conservation alternatives.

New from RFF Press: Water Policy in the Netherlands

The latest book in the Water Policy series explores integrated water resource management in a heavily populated delta region.

Zoning the Sea to Protect Marine Resources

A directive by the Obama Administration to develop a national ocean policy may revive an idea developed at RFF by Jim Sanchirico to zone the ocean to accommodate competing marine resources, such as fishing, oil and wind development, and commercial shipping.

Reforming Regulatory Impact Analysis

Summary Table: Federal Conservation and Recreation Funding Programs

Waste Not, Want Not: Economic and Legal Challenges of Regulation-Induced Changes in Waste Technology and Management

Parks and Recreation in the United States: Local Park Systems

The Implications of Increased Use of Wood for Biofuel Production

Outdoor Recreation in U.S. Up Twofold in 50 Years

Americans are spending twice as much time enjoying outdoor pursuits than they did 50 years ago, according to findings in a new paper by Juha Siikam?ki. Policies to improve access to outdoor recreation have likely contributed to the trend, the paper notes.

Hurricanes, Risk, and Liability: Looking to Congress for Relief

Three legislative approaches are being considered to create effective public policies to deal with catastrophic natural disasters, such as large-scale hurricanes. An op-ed in the St. Petersburg Times by Roger Cooke and Carolyn Kousky examines the merits of each.

The Political Economy of Environmental Justice

Poor people and minorities are more likely to live in neighborhoods at greater risk of environmental hazards. In a May 25 commentary, Spencer Banzhaf discusses public policy intervention on the grounds of environmental justice.

Risk Implications of Farm Technology Adoption in the Ethiopian Highlands

Can Catch Shares Save Fisheries?

In a May 18 commentary, Christopher Costello and Steven Gaines discuss issues in the design of catch shares and experience with this policy to date.

Economic Analysis for Ecosystem-Based Management: Applications to Marine and Coastal Environments

Ocean and coastal management regimes are increasingly subject to competing demands from stakeholders. Regulations must not only address fishing, recreation, and shipping, but also sand and gravel mining, gas pipelines, harbor/port development, offshore wind and tidal energy facilities, liquefied natural gas terminals, offshore aquaculture, and desalinization plants. The growing variety and intensity of ocean and coastal uses increases the call for a more holistic, comprehensive, and coordinated management approach that recognizes the often complex relationships between natural and human systems. For both economist and non-economist audiences, this book describes ways in which economic analysis can be an important tool to inform and improve ecosystem-based management (EBM). Topics include modeling economic impacts; benefit-cost analysis; spatial considerations in EBM; understanding incentives and human behaviors; and accounting for uncertainty in policy analysis. Throughout the course of the book the authors also elucidate the different kinds of insights which can be gained from the use of different economic tools.

Use of Time for Outdoor Recreation in the United States, 1965?2007

EPA's Experiment in Cooling Water Regulation

In a May 11 commentary, Winston Harrington discusses an unsuccessful attempt by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to introduce more flexibility and cost-benefit considerations into a traditional technology-based regulation.

Managing Ecosystems: A Role for Science in Federal Policy

Shoring up the nation's ecological preserves will require more input from biophysics in government decisionmaking. An RFF First Wednesday Seminar examines prospects for drawing on science to restore and protect vital ecosystems. Video and audio available.

Sustainable Agricultural Practices and Agricultural Productivity in Ethiopia: Does Agroecology Matter?

Outdoor Recreation, Health, and Wellness: Understanding and Enhancing the Relationship

Producing Energy from Farm Waste

RFF researchers explored policy options to encourage production of electricity from agricultural waste. They point to market incentives to promote capture of methane from manure, thus enabling farms to generate power, reduce effluence, and provide climate and health benefits.

Changing Access to Forest Resources in Tanzania

Oil Spills: The Deterrent Effects of Monitoring, Enforcement, and Public Information

In this week's commentary, Mark Cohen discusses the appropriate role of deterrence, monitoring, and targeted enforcement policies in reducing the frequency and size of oil discharges in a cost-effective way.

Climate Change and Outdoor Recreation Resources

Water Policy in the Netherlands

As a low-lying delta region with a high population density, the Netherlands has long focused on the prevention of flooding catastrophes and the reclamation of valuable land. The evolution of Dutch water governance, beginning with the creation of local ?water boards? in the Middle Ages and growing into a complex infrastructure of polders, dams, and controlled waterways offers a compelling study of pitfalls and successes within one of the world?s most challenging regions for water management. Water Policy in the Netherlands traces the arc of water governance in the country, from technological innovations to prevent wide-scale flooding, to strategies focused primarily on improving water quality, to an integral water management approach which brings together perspectives from economics, hydrology, ecology, water law, and water technology. The contributions in this book demonstrate how both the technical and social sciences must play key roles in crafting policy in the face of serious environmental challenges including climate change, sea level rise, and increasing soil subsidence. Innovative themes explored in the work include: how economic models and pricing structures might improve efficiency in the distribution of water resources, how the competing uses for water?including for recreation, arable agriculture, fisheries, and natural preservation?create demands on both the quantity and quality of water resources, and how public participation, cogovernance, and the balance of public and private interests will be necessary to meet the goals of the EU?s Water Framework Directive. This resource serves as both an invaluable case study and as a text to develop the analytical tool of integral water management for students, policy-makers, and NGO professionals in developed and developing regions. Water Policy in the Netherlands is part of a RFF Press book series: Issues in Water Resource Policy, Ariel Dinar, Series Editor.

Alcohol/Leisure Complementarity: Empirical Estimates and Implications for Tax Policy

Current Challenges, Funding, and Popularity Trends in Local Parks and Recreation Areas: Responses to a Survey of Park Directors

Current Challenges, Funding, and Popularity Trends in State Parks: Responses to a Survey of Park Directors

Reforming Regulatory Impact Analysis

Improving U.S. Regulatory Policy

A March 31 seminar examines the recommendations contained in "Reforming Regulatory Impact Analysis" ? a new RFF report with contributions from both proponents and skeptics of the desirability of cost-benefit analysis for policymaking.

Spatial Aspects of Forest Management and Non-Timber Forest Product Extraction in Tanzania

Optimal Enforcement and Practical Issues of Resource Protection in Developing Countries

Restoring Great Lakes Ecosystems: Worth the Cost?

In a March 23 commentary by Soren Anderson, Jennifer Read, and Donald Scavia, describes a wide-ranging set of recommendations to address pollution, inadequate capacity for wastewater treatment, and invasive species in the Great Lakes region.

Impacts of the Productive Safety Net Program in Ethiopia on Livestock and Tree Holdings of Rural Households

Improving Flood Insurance and Flood Risk Management: Insights from St. Louis, Missouri

Earth Observations in Social Science Research for Management of Natural Resources and the Environment: Identifying the Contribution of the U.S. Land Remote Sensing (Landsat) Program

The Design, Compilation, and Interpretation of Satellite Accounts for South Africa?s Fisheries: Some Critical Thoughts

Forest Carbon Literacy Lacking in Congress

A new RFF survey of congressional climate staffers finds most are uninformed about the role of forest carbon in international climate negotiations and many believe the issue lacks both a domestic political constituency and champions on the Hill.

Policies to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD in Tropical Forests:An examination of the issues facing the incorporation of REDD into market-based climate policies

Envisioning a World Forest Observatory

A research program led by RFF seeks to devise new ways to accurately gauge four critical attributes of global forests ? area, timber volume, biomass, and carbon sequestration.

Considering Satellite-Collected Solar Power

Touted as an abundant source of ?green? energy by proponents and derided as a sci-fi fantasy by skeptics, capturing solar energy from space has re-entered the global energy discussion. In this RFF Policy Commentary, Molly Macauley and Jhih-Shyang Shih take a closer look at the costs and benefits of satellite-collected solar power.

Strengthening the Role of Forests in Climate Policy

A new study from the RFF Forest Carbon Initiative outlines approaches for using marketable carbon credits to curb deforestation in developing nations.

Markets for Forest Carbon: New Research Announced

A project to support the integration of forestry policy into emerging global greenhouse gas emissions markets has been launched by RFF. The work holds promise for future international climate agreements efforts to maximize sustainable development around the world.

New Roles for Earth Science in Climate Policy

In a new issue brief, RFF Senior Fellow Molly Macauley outlines the important role observations taken from space may have in designing global climate policy.

The Geography of Ecosystem Services

The information used to measure the conventional economy doesn?t capture the free public goods provided by natural systems, such as wetlands. RFF Senior Fellow Jim Boyd delves into this ?missing economy of nature? and examines the essential role of geography in the study of ecosystem services.

The Emergence of Land Markets in Africa

High poverty rates and the need for increased agricultural pro?ductivity remain acute in rural areas across sub-Saharan Africa. A new book from RFF Press marks the first systematic attempt to address emerging land markets in Africa and their implications for poverty, equity, and efficiency.

RFF and Environment for Development

To improve environmental policymaking in developing countries, RFF is working with the University of Gothenburg in Sweden to support national centers for economic analysis in countries around the globe.

Perspectives on Sustainable Resources in America

A new RFF Press book, edited by RFF Senior Fellow Roger Sedjo, provides readers with current perspectives on the challenges involved in managing America?s natural resources, in light of the increasing emphasis on sustainability and ecosystem approaches to management.

Economics and Conservation in the Tropics

Economists and ecologists evaluate the role of economic analysis as a conservation tool in developing countries. Workshop papers available.

Tropical Mixed Agroforestry: Understanding the Drivers of Land Use Change

A detailed analysis by RFF Senior Fellow Allen Blackman and colleagues indicates that efforts to conserve ecologically-valuable mixed agroforestry systems should be tailored to individual settings in order to be most successful.

The Challenge of Biodiversity

RFF Fellow Juha Siikam?ki discusses how economic analysis can help decisionmakers identify practical biodiversity conservation choices.

Outdoor Resources Review Underway

A new independent panel has been convened to review conservation, outdoor recreation, and related issues. RFF is conducting a comprehensive background study for the project to evaluate the supply of and demand for America?s outdoor resources, the value of those resources, funding trends, and emerging concerns.

Environment for Development

The EfD initiative, created to improve policymaking in developing countries, has published its first round of discussion papers.

Space as the Canonical "Global Commons": An Introduction to its Economics

RFF Senior Fellow Molly Macauley explores the management of our most extensive resource-space-and addresses problems of space debris, planetary exploration, and airwave allocation.

What Would Environmentalists Do with ANWR?

In a July 18 article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, RFF Visiting Fellow Matthew Kotchen suggests that the potential payoff in revenues from Alaskan oil would be attractive ? even to opponents of drilling.

Senate Testimony: Using Incentives to Restore Fishery Health

RFF University Fellow James Sanchirico provided a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation with an overview of the economic benefits of cooperatives and individual fishing quota systems.

Costs and Risks are Escalating

Carolyn Kousky writes about the increasing risk of floods that damage property and take lives in the Midwest.

Transfer of Development Rights in U.S. Communities

Senior Fellows Margaret Walls and Virginia McConnell analyze programs from around the country to determine why some have succeeded and others have languished.

A Call for U.S. Leadership on "Green" Accounting

RFF Senior Fellow Jim Boyd makes the case for developing an accounting system to monitor the "natural economy," and says removing congressional roadblocks is the first step.

Where the Sun Does Shine: Will Space Solar Power Ever Be Practical?

Molly Macauley is quoted on the ability of space solar power to compete with other renewable energy technologies.

Saving the Crab - and the Watermen

In this Op-Ed, Leonard Shabman and co-authors Doug Lipton and Tom Miller write about new restrictions on the harvest of female blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay, and the effects those restrictions have on crabs and harvesters.

What Drives Participation in State Voluntary Cleanup Programs?

In a new discussion paper, authored by RFF Senior Fellow Allen Blackman, University of Michigan Professor Thomas P. Lyon, Virginia Tech Associate Professor Kris Wernstedt, and RFF Research Associate Sarah Darley, analysis of an Oregon program sheds light on state efforts to remediate properties contaminated with hazardous waste.

Endangered Species: Progress and Pitfalls During Three Decades of Controversy

RFF Fellow Carolyn Fischer interviews Michael Bean, one of the nation's foremost authorities on the Endangered Species Act of 1973, on the policy questions around endangered species and its future.

Managing Fish Portfolios

Senior Fellow James N. Sanchirico and colleagues Martin D. Smith and Douglas Lipton explore how financial portfolio techniques can be used to manage a suite of species within an ecosystem.

Reconsidering "Conservation Reconsidered"

RFF honors John V. Krutilla, a pioneer in the field of resource economics, and discusses his continuing impact on the evolution of environmental public policy.