Environmental Economics - Choice of presentation / essay topics

Students can choose from two categories of topic:

1. Benefit-cost analysis and valuation methods relating to an environmental service/feature

2. Externalities and environmental problems

Those students who select the first category will deliver their presentations in tutorials during weeks 6 - 7, those who select the second category will deliver their presentations during weeks 8- 9.

Students are encouraged to discuss their proposed choice of subject matter with the lecturer prior to beginning: some topics may be very interesting, but could be 'too hard'.

Students are required to write 2000 with a minimum of 6 references.

Topic category 1 - You will be required to

a) Select an environmental service/feature that has been the subject of an economic valuation (as part of a benefits-cost exercise or otherwise) that interests you and provide a brief non-economic description of the nature of the environmental asset/service.

b) Provide some economic background to the valuation, identifying:

a. The key economic factors which underlie, or contribute to, the value of the environmental asset/service.

b. The key 'actors' and inter-relationships between 'actors' and the environmental service/asset (e.g. who would benefit and who would lose should the environmental asset/service be lost or proposed development plan proceed?)

c. Other important issues that should be taken into account (e.g. whether the benefits and costs are local, regional or global; changes are reversible or irrevocable; degree of certainty over expected outcomes etc.).

c) Discuss the methodology used to value the environmental asset/service i.e. contingent valuation, travel cost method, choice modelling etc., and present the strengths and weaknesses of the approach (i.e. present the 'text-book' details of the approach here').

d) Now step outside the 'text-book' and identify some of the pros and cons of how the methodology was applied in your specific example.

e) Make recommendations as to how the valuation process could have been improved in your example.

Possible topics include:

• Valuations of various aspects of the ecosystem and tourism services offered by the Great Barrier Reef - there have been many different reports using a variety of different techniques considering a wide range of different benefits provided by the GBR
• The Resource Assessment Commission benefit-cost analysis and valuation of the Conservation Zone, Kakadu National Park - included two separate valuation exercises, using contingent valuation and travel cost method
• The cost-benefit analysis prepared for the Northern Territory Government of the Mary River Wetlands Salinity Mitigation project which valued the benefits provided by the Wetlands

Topic category 2 - You will be required to

a) Select an environmental issue/problem (specifically related to pollution) that interests you and provide a brief non-economic description of the nature of the problem.

b) Provide some economic background to the problem, identifying:

a. The key economic factors which underlie, or contribute to, the problem (e.g. Externalities, Absence of Property Rights, Free-rider problems, etc.).

b. The key 'actors' and inter-relationships between 'actors' (e.g. whose actions are affecting who/what in which way?)

c. Other important issues, (e.g. whether the problem is local, regional or global; continuous or episodic, and whether the pollutant is cumulative or non-cumulative; point-source or non-point-source).

c) List at least TWO (for EV2003) different policy/management options that could, theoretically, be used to alleviate the problem and then use an economic model(s) to show how each policy would change behaviours (e.g. reduce emissions) - ASSUMING that each of these policy/management options can be implemented as planned without 'real-world' complications (i.e. just present some 'text-book' solutions here').

d) Next step outside the 'text-book' and identify some of the pros and cons of each policy/management option. Attempt to rank them according to a variety of different criterion.

e) Based on the preceding analyses identify your 'recommended policy' for alleviating the environmental problem.

Possible topics include:

• Air or water pollution resulting from a particular industrial site
• Solid waste disposal by a local council
• Toxic waste disposal in a particular country/region
• Acid rain in a particular country/region
• Sediment and/or nitrogen pollution flowing into the Great Barrier Reef
• Water pollution into a specific river (E.g. the Murray River)
• Consequences of climate change