Conservation: Economics, Science, and Policy

A unified theory of conservation that addresses the broad problem of conservation, the principles that inform conservation choices, and the application of those principles to the management of the natural world. The conservation of natural resources, like that of any other asset, involves trade-offs. Yet, in a world faced with the harsh realities of climate change, crafting the right environmental policies is an increasingly urgent task. In Conservation, Charles Perrings and Ann Kinzig bring together new research in economics and biodiversity to investigate conservation decisions and the theory behind them. Perrings and Kinzig apply the concept of conservation broadly to examine how the principles of conservation apply to the management of the natural world. They demonstrate that the same basic principles serve as the foundation of all rational conservation decisions, from managing financial assets to safeguarding at-risk ecosystems. Whether someone is deciding to hold or dispose of a stock or whether to exploit or preserve a natural resource, they are better off choosing to conserve a resource when its value to them, if conserved, is greater than its value when converted. The book also considers the context of such conservation decisions. Just as national tax rules influence choices about financial investments, environmental regulations within countries, and environmental agreements between countries, impact the decisions regarding natural resources. Building on their basic theory of conservation, Perrings and Kinzig address key issues in the field of environmental economics, including the valuation of ecosystem services and environmental assets; the limits on the substitutability of produced and natural capital; and the challenges posed by the often weak markets for ecosystem services oriented toward the public good. They also address the problem of scale: while decisions might be easier to make at the local level, many conservation policies need to apply at either the national or international level to succeed. Written by experts from both social and hard sciences, this book presents a unified theory of conservation and provides a model for a more effective way to approach the vitally important issue.

Table of Contents:
PREFACE LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF TABLES LIST OF ACRONYMS CHAPTER 1 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE 1.1 Introduction 1.2 The biological record 1.3 Implications for conservation 1.4 Plan of the book PART I THE ECONOMIC THEORY OF CONSERVATION CHAPTER 2 THE DECISION PROBLEM 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Elements of the decision problem 2.3 A numerical example-the wine storage problem 2.4 Summary and conclusions CHAPTER 3 HOTELLING CONSERVATION 3.1 Introduction 3.2 The Hotelling arbitrage condition 3.3 The Hotelling prices and quantities 3.4 Renewable natural resources and the Hotelling arbitrage condition 3.5 Connecting the Hotelling theory of conservation to Conservation Biology 3.6 Summary and conclusions CHAPTER 4 THE CONSERVATION RENEWABLE RESOURCES 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Marine capture fisheries 4.3 Forests and forestry 4.4 Rangelands 4.5 Summary and conclusions PART II VALUATION CHAPTER 5 THE VALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL GOODS AND SERVICES 5.1 Introduction 5.2 The basis of value 5.3 Ecosystem services and the value of non-marketed environmental resources 5.4 The valuation of provisioning and cultural services 5.5 The valuation of regulating services 5.6 Summary and conclusions CHAPTER 6 THE VALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASSETS 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Sustainability and the value of environmental assets 6.3 The value of environmental assets in the national accounts 6.4 Inclusive wealth 6.5 Environmental assets and total factor productivity 6.6 Summary and conclusions CHAPTER 7 SUBSTITUTABILITY AND THE VALUATION OF NATURAL CAPITAL 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Substitution in production 7.3 Substitution in a generalized model of joint production 7.3 Substitution and public goods 7.4 Net substitutes and complements 7.5 Conditional substitutes and complements 7.6 Summary and conclusions PART III ALIGNING THE PRIVATE AND SOCIAL VALUE OF NATURAL RESOURCES CHAPTER 8 ENVIRONMENTAL PUBLIC GOODS 8.1 Introduction 8.2 The optimal provision of public goods 8.3 Types of public good 8.4 Strategic behavior and the provision of public goods 8.5 Resolving the public good problem 8.6 Summary and conclusions CHAPTER 9 ENVIRONMENTAL EXTERNALITIES 9.1 Introduction 9.2 The nature of environmental externalities 9.3 Unidirectional externalities 9.4 Positional externalities 9.5 Public externalities 9.6 Aligning private and social value 9.6 Summary and conclusions CHAPTER 10 POVERTY, VALUE, AND CONSERVATION 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Income effects and poverty 10.3 Poverty-population-environment 10.4 Per capita income growth and conservation 10.5 Wealth, property rights, and conservation 10.6 Summary and conclusions CHAPTER 11 CONSERVATION IN PROTECTED AREAS 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Protected area design: ecological principles 11.3 Protected area design: economic principles 11.4 Protected areas and the supply of ecosystem services 11.5 Protected areas and poverty 11.6 Summary and conclusions CHAPTER 12 CONSERVATION BEYOND PROTECTED AREAS 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Conservation of threatened wild species outside protected areas 12.3 Conservation in agriculture 12.4 Habitat substitutability 12.5 Summary and conclusions CHAPTER 13 CONSERVATION AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Property rights 13.3 Legal restrictions on land use 13.4 Environmental offsets 13.5 Economic incentives 13.6 Summary and conclusions CHAPTER 14 CONSERVATION AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Migratory species 14.3 Transboundary and linked ecosystems 14.4 Trade, travel, and the movement of species 14.5 Strategic behavior and transboundary conservation 14.6 Funding conservation as a global public good 14.6 Summary and conclusions CHAPTER 15 CONSERVATION IN THE FUTURE 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Environmental trends 15.3 Economic trends 15.4 The population affected by conservation decisions 15.5 The optimal scale at which to conserve and the governance of conservation Index

About the Author :
Charles Perrings is a Professor of Environmental Economics at Arizona State University. Previous appointments include professorships at the University of York and the University of California, Riverside. He was for several years vice-chair of the international biodiversity science research program, DIVERSITAS, and represented the International Council of Science in negotiations with national governments to establish the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). He was also a member of the US President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) working group on biodiversity and ecosystem services. He was the founding editor of the journal, Environment and Development Economics, and is a Past President of the International Society for Ecological Economics. Ann Kinzig is a Professor of Biology and Society at Arizona State University, where she has held an appointment for 22 years. Before coming to ASU, she was named the first American Association for the Advancement of Science Roger Revelle Fellow in Global Stewardship, and worked on issues of conservation and climate change in the Environment Division of the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Clinton White House. She is an elected Fellow of the AAAS and has served on the Ecological Society of America Governing Board.

Review :
This is a remarkably learned, informative, and useful book that will work well in graduate courses. Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals.