Economic criteria for using wetlands as nitrogen sinks under uncertainty

If the environmental damages that are caused by excessive nitrogen load to the sea depend on the timing of emissions, then monitoring the stochastic variation of emissions is crucial for controlling eutrophication damages. A significant problem of nonpoint source (NPS) nitrogen pollution is that emi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecological economics 2000-10, Vol.35 (1), p.35-45
Main Authors: Byström, Olof, Andersson, Hans, Gren, Ing-Marie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brackish
Chance constraints (CCP)
Conservation
Costs
Ecology
Economic analysis
Ecosystems
Environmental economics
Environmental management
Freshwater
Institutions
Landscape
Marine
Nitrogen abatement
Stochastic
Sweden
Swedish wetlands
Uncertainty
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Summary:If the environmental damages that are caused by excessive nitrogen load to the sea depend on the timing of emissions, then monitoring the stochastic variation of emissions is crucial for controlling eutrophication damages. A significant problem of nonpoint source (NPS) nitrogen pollution is that emissions are stochastic and difficult to control. The main purpose of this paper is to examine under what criteria wetlands are economically rational to use for controlling stochastic NPS pollution. Three criteria are identified using a simplified stochastic watershed model. It is suggested that wetlands are economically rational to use, especially when monitoring the uncertainty of emissions is a part of the decision problem. The theoretical findings are illustrated with an example from southwestern Sweden.
ISSN:0921-8009
1873-6106
DOI:10.1016/S0921-8009(00)00166-X