RFF The Natural World

The Bioeconomics of Spatial-Dynamical Systems in Natural Resource Management

Efficiency costs of social objectives in tradable permit programs

Is What you See What You Get? The Value of Natural Landscape Views

A Historical Examination of The Corps of Engineers and Natural Valley Storage Protection: The Economics and Politics of ?Green? Flood Control

Biodiversity Conservation in Latin America and the Caribbean: Prioritizing Policies

Independent and Cooperative Management of Invasive Species in Human-Mediated Landscapes.

Designing Efficient Surveys: Spatial Arrangement of Sample Points for Detection of Invasive Species

Floodplain Conservation as a Flood Mitigation Strategy: Examining Costs and Benefits

Designing Cost-Efficient Surveillance for Early Detection and Control of Multiple Biological Invaders

Bioeconomic synergism between tactics for insect eradication in the presence of Allee effects

The Regulation of a Spatially Heterogeneous Externality: Tradable Groundwater Permits to Protect Streams

Blue Carbon: Coastal Ecosystems, Their Carbon Storage, and Potential for Reducing Emissions

Finding Sensitivity to Scope in Nonmarket Valuation

Policy for Robust Space-Based Earth Science, Technnology, and Applications

Earth Observations and Space Strategy

Land Use Policies in the United States for Protecting Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

Forest Carbon Economics: What We Know, What We Do Not, and Whether it Matters

Strategically Placing Green Infrastructure: Cost-Effective Land Conservation in the Floodplain

Size Matters (in Output-Sharing Groups): Voting to End the Tragedy ofthe Commons

Terrestrial Fluxes of Sediments and Nutrients to Pacific Coastal Waters and Their Effects on Coastal Carbon Storage Rates

Analytical hydrologic models and the design of policy instruments for groundwater-quality management

Paying for State Parks: Evaluating Alternative Approaches for the 21st Century

Managing Water through Innovative Collaboration

Resources magazine: RFF Visiting Scholar Lynn Scarlett explains how network governance can address cross-jurisdictional water management issues in the United States.

Using Transferable Development Rights to Control Land Use

RFF?s Margaret Walls describes the virtues, and the pitfalls, of market-based programs for land conservation and discusses the lessons learned from three decades of a Maryland program.

Markets for Development Rights: Lessons Learned from Three Decades of a TDR Program

Updated: NPCA Names Former Bush Administration Interior Official To Board Of Trustees

Protecting Coastal Environments to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Preventing the release of ?blue carbon? stored in mangroves, sea grasses, and salt marshes may be an effective way to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. A new RFF report details the possibilities.

Does Tourism Eco-Certification Pay? Costa Rica?s Blue Flag Program

Does Eco-Certification Pay? Costa Rica?s Blue Flag Program

RFF Senior Fellow Allen Blackman and his colleagues present some of the first evidence that eco-certification programs in developing countries can have positive impacts for both the economy and environment.

Does Tourism Eco-Certification Pay? Costa Rica?s Blue Flag Program

Forest Tenure Reform in China

Resources magazine: To boost domestic forest production and correct rural?urban income disparity, China is putting forest management rights into the hands of its citizens.

Managing Rural Water Systems: Keys to Success

Resources magzine: A study of village drinking water associations in Costa Rica reveals why some communities are effective at providing safe drinking water, while others fail.

REDD+ and Community-Controlled Forests in Low-Income Countries: Any Hope for a Linkage?

Safety of shale gas wells up to states ? and ?the cement job?

US Forest?Climate Assistance: An Assessment

User-Financing in a National Payments for Environmental Services Program: Costa Rican Hydropower.

Land Cover Change in Mixed Agroforestry: Shade Coffee in El Salvador.

Producer-level Benefits of Sustainability Certification

Tree Cover Loss in El Salvador?s Shade Coffee Areas

The SO2 Allowance Trading System: The Ironic History of a Grand Policy Experiment

The Equilibrium Price Path of Timber in the Absence of Replanting

Blue Carbon: A Potentially Winning Climate Strategy

Protecting coastal mangrove forests may be a highly competitive, cost-effective approach for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to a recent study by experts from RFF and the University of California, Davis.

Does the Government Cause or Prevent Wildfires? Rethink Development Patterns

Optimal surveillance and eradication of invasive species in heterogeneous landscapes

Global economic potential for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from mangrove loss

The State of the Great Outdoors: Charting Recent Trends, Assessing Funding Needs, and Understanding Americans' Connection to Nature

?Wood as a Major Feedstock for Biofuel Production in the U.S.: Impacts on Forests and International Trade

Forestland Ownership Changes in the United States and Sweden

How do Environmental Regulations Affect Investments in Biofuel and Biofuel R&D: The case of Transgenic Trees

Forestland Ownership Changes in the United States and Sweden

?Some Limits of Wood Biomass for Cellulosic Biofuels

Green Infrastructure: Using Natural Landscapes for Flood Mitigation and Water Quality Improvements

At a recent First Wednesday Seminar, RFF experts explored the concept of green infrastructure and examined its potential role in flood mitigation and environmental services programs. Event video and slides are now available.

Policy Monitor: U.S. Experience with Transferable Development Rights

Optimal spatial control of biological invasions

Invasive Species: Impacts, Challenges, and Strategies for Management

At a recent First Wednesday Seminar, a panel of experts convened to discuss the complex ecological, economic, and policy implications of invasive species. Event video and presentations are now available.

Ex Post Evaluation of Forest Conservation Policies Using Remote Sensing Data: An Introduction and Practical Guide

How Carbon Neutral is Bioenergy?

At a recent RFF seminar, Senior Fellow and Center for Forest Economics and Policy Director Roger Sedjo discussed the issue of emissions from wood energy. Video and slides from the event are now available.

Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services, and Land Use: Comparing Three Federal Policies

Zoning on the Urban Fringe: Results from a New Approach to Modeling Land and Housing Markets

Policy Monitor: U.S. Experience with Transferable Development Rights

Potential Biodiversity Benefits from International Programs to Reduce Carbon Emissions from Deforestation

Adapting Environmental Policy for the Developing World

Researchers from Environment for Development centers investigated some of the challenges faced by policymakers in developing countries, including the economic impacts of public health issues and the effects of climate change on agricultural productivity.

How the United States Can Support REDD+ Programs

Efforts to reduce deforestation in developing tropical countries continue to provide promising opportunities to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while simultaneously addressing development concerns.

The Census of Marine Life

Video: RFF University Fellow Jesse Ausubel shares the scientifically rich, visually captivating results from a 10-year survey of the Earth?s oceans at an RFF seminar, ?The Census of Marine Life.?

The Benefits of Reducing Chesapeake Bay Pollution

Maureen Cropper and William Isaac outline the benefits of achieving EPA?s total maximum daily load targets for the Chesapeake Bay.

Hurricanes: Who should pay?

U.S. Policy Options for Reducing Tropical Deforestation: What Can be Done?

In a new Discussion Paper, RFF scholars propose a ?whole-of-government? approach for slowing and reversing tropical forest loss to engage the full suite of policy levers in the federal government.

Renewable Energy in Antarctica and the Power of Being Bold

On June 15, RFF hosted polar explorer and environmental leader Robert Swan (OBE) at a Policy Leadership Forum, where he spoke on energy resources and strategies for sustainable global economic growth.

Natural Resource Scarcity and the Fear of ?Resource Wars?

As Congress continues to debate the causes and effects of higher oil prices, RFF Senior Fellow Joel Darmstadter reviews lessons learned about how the perceived scarcity of natural resources?for example, oil, copper, and rare earths?may cloud some countries? hope for a robust economic future.

Guest commentary: The economics of flooding

Coordinating Ecological and Economic Research: Introducing rff.org/cmew

In this Q&A, Director of RFF's Center for the Management of Ecological Wealth (CMEW) Jim Boyd explains how the center extends RFF?s work on natural resource, energy, and climate issues. Learn more about CMEW?s work here.

Why Mississippi Floods Were Expected

Using Space to Control Invasive Species and Reduce Containment Costs

RFF researchers move beyond the ?when? and ?how much? to control invasive species to also consider the ?where? in order to reduce long-term costs and damages.

New Look, Same Magazine!

The fundamentals haven?t changed: you?ll find short, accessible stories by RFF scholars, written without partisan bias or technical jargon. The purpose of the new design is to make it easier to find what you?re looking for as well as easier to read?the type is bigger!

Saving America?s Land and Ecosystems

Some 30 million acres in the United States comprise the federal land preservation effort known as the Conservation Reserve Program. An RFF First Wednesday seminar panel discusses the impact of this policy on ecosystem services, agriculture, land use, and more.

Superior Salmon?

As the Food and Drug Administration nears approval of the sale of genetically engineered salmon to American consumers, RFF Visiting Scholar Randall Lutter analyzes the surge of new kinds of fish and meat products ? and the agency?s plans to regulate their labeling.

China: A Resource War Resurgence?

In the latest issue of Resources, Senior Fellow Joel Darmstadter divines facts and fears about China?s energy strategy, including its ongoing, global shopping spree for oil.

Connecting Americans to the Great Outdoors

America?s scenic and natural resources have always been a source of national pride but the evidence is mixed about how often we go outdoors and who among us goes.

Harnessing Ecosystems to Help Endangered Species

A new paper by Visiting Scholar Lynn Scarlett suggests an ecosystem-based approach to listing and protecting threatened animals and plants.

Moving Toward Global Risk-Based Food Safety Policies

In the lead editorial of Risk Analysis, RFF Fellow Sandra Hoffmann introduces a special edition on risk ranking to help ensure safer foods around the world.

A Primer on Oil Spill Liability Law

A complex landscape of damage costs, laws, and private and public interests will determine who pays, when, and how much.

Using Ecosystem Damages in Oil Spill Liability

Assessments of ecological damage would help put a price tag on the gulf coast oil spill, but scientific barriers may ground such efforts.

The Impact of Climate Change on the Forest Industry

Resources Magazine: In a warmer world, forests will overtake tundra regions and extra carbon could boost production, according to new research.

Using Labels to Sow the Seeds for Better Products

For markets such as fruits and vegetables, country labeling and minimum standards could boost profits and quality.

RFF and the 2010 Gulf Coast Oil Spill

With oil-related energy, liability, and regulatory issues again at the forefront, RFF research on these issues provides context and insight into future implications.

Why We Need Accurate Maps of the World?s Forests

Resources Magazine: RFF researchers make the case for better forest maps and the space-based technologies that can make them a reality.

A New Collection of Best Thinking on Current Issues

RFF announces an anthology of thought-provoking and insightful contributions from leading researchers in key climate, environmental, and energy fields. Issues of the Day, a reference for policy practitioners, is now available for sale or download.

Taking the Measure of Forest Carbon

Resources Magazine: A look at the Forest Carbon Index, an ambitious project integrating global datasets to illuminate the geography of the emissions offset market.

Do Ecolabels Really Have Environmental Benefits?

A new study looks at the growing trend in socially-responsible product certification, finding limited evidence that these labels boost environmental or socioeconomic benefits.

Taking Stock of the Biomass Crop Assistance Program

RFF Senior Fellow Roger Sedjo finds that the impacts of a new federal biomass program on wood growers and processors may not be clear-cut.

Valuing ?Windows on the World?

RFF researchers look at alternative ways to measure the value of Earth observation images, including emerging applications for monitoring forest carbon.

Balancing Conservation and Development

New research highlights the economics of critical developing world issues such as deforestation and water supply.

Designing Fishing Quota Programs to Net the Biggest Gains

Kailin Kroetz and RFF Nonresident Fellow James Sanchirico assess the trade-offs involved in designing market-based individual transferable quota (ITQ) programs for fisheries.

Assessing Risk via Expert Elicitation

Nature magazine highlights RFF Senior Fellow Roger Cooke?s use of expert elicitation, and recommends that it be used in gauging climate change risks.

Taking a Census of the World?s Forests

Can satellite imagery provide improved measurements of global forests? A new RFF Report asserts that space-based observations will give us the best?and most timely?data on forest inventory.

Climate Change in the Developing World

Rosina Bierbaum says developing countries can?t afford to ignore climate change, and developed nations must aid poorer nations with financing and technology. The three essentials: Act now, act together, and act differently.

Congestion and the Commons

Resources Magazine: Carolyn Fischer and Ramanan Laxminarayan explore the interactions between owned and unowned resource pools, using examples from fisheries and antiobiotics.

Ocean Zoning: A Venerable Idea Bobs to the Surface

As the U.S. closes in on a comprehensive policy to oversee and protect maritime resources, several recent articles draw on RFF research to advocate a ?zone-the-oceans? policy to ensure that the world?s seas ? and the industries that depend on them ? are healthy.

'Forest Carbon Index' Maps the Geography of Climate Solutions

The innovative ?Forest Carbon Index? uses geospatial data to estimate each nation's potential to attract forest carbon investment based on profit potential and country-specific risk factors.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Costs and Risks are Escalating

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

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.