Economic Valuation of River Systems (New Horizons in Environmental Economics Series)

It is rare to find a book that attempts to integrate physical, biological and social sciences (economics) to address environmental problems, but this book does a great job of it. It is also rare to find a book that addresses both the benefits and the costs of river restoration, and again this book delivers. This collection of case studies provides an informative and practical guide to conducting economic analyses of many different types of river restoration. Scientists interested in quantifying the benefits and costs of river restoration will gain a very quick and thorough education from the case studies presented in this book. COPYRIGHT......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 Contributors......Page 8 Preface......Page 12 Acknowledgments......Page 14 1. The role of biology and ecological engineering in watershed and river restoration......Page 16 2. Codification, case studies, and methods for economic analysis of river systems......Page 34 3. Estimating willingness to pay for additional protection of Ohio surface waters: contingent valuation of water quality......Page 50 4. The economics of high-head dam removal in an ecological context: a case study of the Ballville Dam, Fremont, Ohio......Page 67 5. The economics of low-head dam removal: a case study on the Salmon River in Fort Covington, New York......Page 82 6. Economic analysis of infrastructure and water quality improvements in the Muskingum River Corridor......Page 101 7. Economic analysis of water quality and recreational benefits of the Hocking River Valley......Page 116 8. Effects of pesticide use and farming practices on water treatment costs in Maumee River basin communities......Page 130 9. Economic efficiency and distribution evaluation of dredging of toxic sediments and selected dam removal in the Mahoning River......Page 144 10. An economic analysis of Lower Great Miami River segment improvements......Page 168 11. The Cuyahoga River Valley initiative: framing, codification, and preliminary economic analysis in an urban river corridor......Page 189 12. Overview, key findings, and approaches including benefit transfer for generalization of research results......Page 207 Index......Page 230 The book applies benefit-cost analysis and a wide array of non-market and distribution economic valuation methods in ecologic context to determine the pay-off and distribution impacts of various infrastructure and water quality improvements to eight river systems in the Great Lakes region of the US. The generally positive results have important implications for public policy and future research.Prime readership is the wide range of academics, NGO and government agency staff and citizen action groups concerned with the management and protection of rivers and other natural resource systems. "The book applies benefit-cost analysis and a wide array of non-market and distribution economic valuation methods in ecologic context to determine the pay-off and distribution impacts of various infrastructure and water quality improvements to eight river systems in the Great Lakes region of the US. The generally positive results have important implications for public policy and future research."--Jacket