A relação economia e meio ambiente, retratada pela teoria econômica desde autores como David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus e Marx, tornou-se mais evidente após a década de 60 (século XX) em função dos processos de industrialização nos principais países do mundo. Intelectuais, como os que formaram o Clube de Roma, ressaltavam a tendência à escassez dos recursos naturais pela superexploração. Porém, uma área ainda é bastante polêmica dentro da relação entre economia e meio ambiente: a da valoração econômica. Os métodos usualmente propostos tendem a valorar os recursos naturais através da revelação das preferências. Normalmente, os recursos naturais não possuem um mercado real, fazendo-se necessário recorrer-se a um mercado hipotético para revelar a preferência dos agentes econômicos. Para fazer uma discussão acerca do tema, esta tese está dividida em três ensaios. No primeiro fez-se uma revisão sobre as teorias que evidenciam a relação entre economia e meio ambiente. No segundo aplicou-se o método da valoração contingente usando a Represa Dal Bó, em Caxias do Sul, como objeto no qual se desejou encontrar a disposição a pagar por sua preservação. Para o tratamento das informações aplicou-se uma regressão logística do tipo Logit. Por fim, no terceiro apresentou-se a Análise Custo Efetividade como uma alternativa a valoração ou precificação de um recurso natural. Para tanto, utilizou-se a situação dos recursos hídricos de Caxias do Sul para um exercício aplicando a ACE. Como conclusão, tem-se que a relação entre economia e meio ambiente é polêmica, sobretudo no que diz respeito à valoração. Ao aplicar o MVC, este apresentou resultados econométricos não muito significativos, confirmando as limitações do método. Mesmo assim, aponta com uma probabilidade de 69% uma disposição a pagar de mais de R$ 4,00/mês. Já para a aplicação da Análise Custo Efetividade, ao considerar-se apenas o setor industrial, tem–se que uma tarifa incitativa seria, no mínimo, de R$ 636,68 ton/ano representando o custo marginal para tratar a matéria orgânica medida pela demanda química de oxigênio. Ao acrescentar outros setores tem-se que a tarifa diminui para R$ 572,32 ton/ano devido ao custo marginal menor do setor doméstico. Pelos exercícios propostos a análise custo efetividade se mostra viável para valorar os recursos naturais sem, necessariamente, os precificar diretamente. / Economy and environment relationship, portrayed by economic theory from authors like David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus and Marx, became more apparent after the 1960s (Century XX), standed out by the industrializing processes in main countries of the world. Intellectuals such as members of The Club of Rome gave emphasis to the natural resources scarcity tendences caused by super exploration. However, there is still a controversial area within the relationship between environment and economy: the economic valuation.Usual proposed methods tend to value natural resources through disclosure of preferences. Normally occurs that natural resources do not have a real market, making it necessary to resort to a hypothetical market to reveal the preference of economic agents. For a discussion on the issue, this thesis is divided into three essays. In the first, a review about the theories that highlight the relationship between economy and environment is made. In the second, the contingent valuation method is apllied using the Dal Bó dam, at Caxias do Sul, as the object in which is wanted to find the disposition to pay for its preservation. For the information treatment is applied a logistic regression, Logit type. Finally, in the third, an Effectiveness Cost Analysis is presented as an alternative to a natural resource valuation or pricing. Therefore, the hydric resources situation in Caxias do Sul was considered in an exercise using the ECA. By conclusion, the relationship between economy and environment lead to polemics, especially what refers to the valuation. When applied the contingent valuation method the econometric results was not very significant, confirming your limitations. Nevertheless, with a probability of 69%, a willingness to pay was more than R$ 4.00/month. For Effective Cost Analysis application, when considering only the industrial sector, an inciting fare would be, at least, R$ 636,68 ton/year which represents the marginal cost to treat organic material measured by the oxygen chemical demand. When adding other sectors the fare diminish to R$ 572,32 ton/year due to lower marginal cost of domestic sector. By the proposed practices the Effectiveness Cost Analysis presents itself proper for valuing natural resources, without, necessarily, price them directly.

Climate has relevant impacts on economic activities and human well-being. This study aims to contribute to the identification and measurement of these impacts on the agricultural markets and health. With regard to health, dengue fever - a climate-sensitive disease - is analyzed, as it affects thousands of Brazilians every year, generating large costs in both private and public markets (approximately US$800 million in Brazil in 2011). Thus, chapter 2 addresses the impact of climate on the risk of dengue fever in Brazil, modeling dengue incidence as a risk function estimated using count data models applied to the outbreak of dengue epidemics in 2010 and controlling for likely endogeneities. The results corroborate the relevance of climate variables in explaining dengue incidence in Brazil. Moreover, if climate change occurs as expected, the results suggest a potential added risk for central-southern areas in Brazil and a risk reduction for northern areas of the country. Short-term deviations from normal rainfall conditions in summer also seem to increase the risk of dengue when compared to normal rainfall conditions. Other results suggest the non-effectiveness of local expenditures for epidemiological surveillance and the need of integrated actions to control the disease. When it comes to agricultural markets, two important hypotheses are tested: i) farmers only observe the average climate conditions of their region when deciding the type and amount of crop/animal to grow/raise (Chapter 3); ii) weather diversions from normal climate conditions might deviate farmers from their optimal profits, causing inefficiencies (Chapter 4). Both hypotheses are not rejected by the data. The modeling approach used is the translog profit frontier approach. The results indicated that if the climate change forecasts are confirmed, almost all the agricultural products in Brazil will be negatively affected, especially production of cattle products (beef and milk), coffee and maize. The only product that shows a positive effect is soybeans, probably due to its current high adaptability to different climate patterns. Use of irrigation is the main compensation instrument to reduce the expected climate change impacts. However, technological instruments such as use of transgenic seeds, cattle confinement, along with the increase in tillage, are also important adaptation measures to climate change. The analysis of the determinants of the efficiencies calculated suggests that droughts and cold stresses cause harmful effects to agriculture in Brazil. In 2006, the estimated loss from rainfall anomalies is approximately 15 billion dollars (in 2011 values). The southern and midwestern regions are slightly more vulnerable than the other regions. Assuming the extreme hypothesis of drought and cold stress occurrence overall in Brazil, the total profit loss is about 81 and 35 billion dollars, respectively. These losses can be mainly mitigated by the intense use of an insurance instrument, but the participation of farmers in the agricultural insurance market in Brazil is still very low. / O clima impacta diversas atividades econômicas e humanas. Esta tese tem o objetivo de contribuir para a identificação e mensuração de alguns destes impactos, com foco nos mercados agrícolas e na saúde. Com relação à saúde, o dengue, que é uma doença sensível ao clima, é analisado uma vez que afeta milhares de brasileiros todos os anos e causa expressivas perdas para os mercados privados e para a saúde pública (cerca de US$800 milhões no ano de 2011 para o Brasil). Desta forma, o Capítulo 2 busca entender o impacto do clima no risco de dengue no país por meio da modelagem e estimação do risco de dengue usando dados da epidemia de 2010 e modelos de dados de contagem com controle das endogeneidades detectadas. Os resultados corroboram a relevância das variáveis climáticas na explicação da incidência de dengue no Brasil. Ademais, se as mudanças climáticas ocorrerem da forma esperada, os resultados sugerem um aumento do risco na região do Centro-Sul brasileiro e redução do risco no Norte-Nordeste. Desvios de curto prazo da precipitação no verão também parecem potencializar o risco da doença, quando comparado ao risco em condições pluviométricas normais. Outros resultados sugerem que as despesas municipais com vigilância epidemiológica não são efetivas no combate ao dengue e ações integradas são necessárias para o controle da doença no curto-prazo. Com relação aos mercados agrícolas, duas importantes hipóteses são testadas: i) fazendeiros apenas observam as condições climáticas médias de suas regiões no momento em que decidem o que e quanto produzir (Capítulo 3); ii) desvios climáticos de curto prazo podem afastar os fazendeiros de seus lucros ótimos, causando ineficiências (Capítulo 4). Ambas as hipóteses não são rejeitadas pelos dados. Para tal teste, estimou-se uma equação de fronteira de lucro com a especificação translog. Os resultados indicaram que, se confirmadas as mudanças climáticas, praticamente todos os produtos agrícolas serão negativamente afetados, especialmente a produção de leite, carne bovina, café e milho. O único produto positivamente impactado seria a soja, provavelmente devido à sua adaptabilidade a diferentes climas. O uso de técnicas de irrigação parece ser um importante instrumento de adaptação a tais mudanças. Todavia, outros instrumentos tecnológicos, tais como o uso de sementes transgênicas, confinamento de gado, assim como o uso de plantio direto, também se mostraram importantes técnicas de adaptação à evolução esperada do clima. A análise dos determinantes da eficiência agrícola sugere que secas e ondas de frio impactam negativamente a agricultura no Brasil. Em 2006, a perda agrícola estimada relacionada à falta de chuvas foi de aproximadamente 15 bilhões de dólares (em valores de 2011). As regiões Sul e Centro-oeste são sensivelmente mais vulneráveis do que as demais regiões. Assumindo a hipótese extrema de ocorrência de seca e onda de frio em todo o país, as perdas estimadas de tais eventos são da ordem de 81 e 35 bilhões de dólares, respectivamente. Essas perdas podem ser mitigadas pelo uso de seguros agrícolas, porém a participação de fazendeiros no mercado de seguro rural no Brasil é ainda muito baixa.

abstract: The built environment is responsible for a significant portion of global waste generation. Construction and demolition (C&D) waste requires significant landfill areas and costs billions of dollars. New business models that reduce this waste may prove to be financially beneficial and generally more sustainable. One such model is referred to as the “Circular Economy” (CE), which promotes the efficient use of materials to minimize waste generation and raw material consumption. CE is achieved by maximizing the life of materials and components and by reclaiming the typically wasted value at the end of their life. This thesis identifies the potential opportunities for using CE in the built environment. It first calculates the magnitude of C&D waste and its main streams, highlights the top C&D materials based on weight and value using data from various regions, identifies the top C&D materials’ current recycling and reuse rates, and finally estimates a potential financial benefit of $3.7 billion from redirecting C&D waste using the CE concept in the United States. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering 2019

abstract: Payments for ecosystem services (PES) are transactions between landholders and the beneficiaries of the services their land provides. PES schemes are growing worldwide with annual transactions over ten billion dollars (Salzman et al., 2018). Much can be learned from looking at oldest and best funded PES schemes on working agricultural land. Initiated in 1985, the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is the oldest private conservation PES program in the United States. CRP incentivizes farmers to put their land into conservation through an annual payment. In Iowa, CRP has been a source of extra income and a way for farmers to buffer the fluctuating costs of cash crops, such as corn and soy. The dominance of agriculture in Iowa poses many challenges for water quality. A potential solution to the problem, implemented through CRP, is the use of conservation practices to mitigate the negative effects of agricultural run-off. This dissertation considers three aspects of the problem: 1. the relationship between changes in land cover due to CRP enrollment and changes in water quality, controlling for a range of factors known to have an effect on the filtering role of different land covers; 2. the inter-annual variability in water quality measures and enrollment in different CRP conservation practices to examine the cost-effectiveness of specific conservation practices in mitigating lake sedimentation and eutrophication; 3. discrete choice models to identify what characteristics drive the enrollment by farmers into specific conservation practices. Results indicate that land cover and CRP have different impacts on different indicators of lake water quality. In addition, conservation practices that were cost-effective for one water quality variable tended to be cost-effective for the other water quality variables. Farmers are making decisions to enroll in CRP based on the opportunity cost of the land. Therefore, it is necessary to alter financial incentives to promote productive land being putting into CRP through continuous sign-up. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) needs a more effective way to calculate the payment level for practices in order to be competitive with the predicted value of major crops. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Biology 2019

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Throughout the last two decades, biodiversity has been increasingly acknowledged as a valuable asset. However there are numerous challenges to managing the asset. Firstly, there is no universally accepted measure of biodiversity per se. As a consequence, rather than measuring the intrinsic value of biodiversity the focus has typically shifted to valuing biodiversity services. Secondly, biodiversity issues should not be considered in a vacuum, but rather alongside general natural resource management problems. Conservation agencies and regulators alike would greatly benefit from more transparent biodiversity targets for conservation policies and natural resource management. This thesis makes a number of contributions to meet these challenges including measuring biodiversity, modelling diverse ecosystems and considering biodiversity outcomes in the management of an environmental resource. To value biodiversity, it is essential to measure it. Focusing on pairwise genetic dissimilarities at the species level, this thesis develops two models for measuring biodiversity. An axiomatic diagnosis of the existing and new measures is presented. This comparison suggests that the adequate biodiversity measure depends on the context. The diversity measures describe the biodiversity catalogue available at a given point in time. Modelling biodiversity is important for forecasting the impact of conservation decisions and understanding the future value of biodiversity. The importance of each species, however, depends on its role in the ecosystem as well as its genetic diversity. The interactions between species are therefore investigated and described, using a new model built around CES production functions. Three existing models based on predator-prey equations are extended to the multi-species case. These interaction models provide the necessary link for biodiversity maintenance over time. The four models are compared using simulations and an axiomatic approach. This approach shows that the new model performs well, offers the flexibility required to describe different types of ecosystems and is less data intensive. Finally, a case study of natural resource exploitation is presented, illustrating the idea that biodiversity loss can have direct economic implications in natural resource management. The model shows the impact of market structures on the extraction path of the resource and the distribution of the resource rent.

This thesis examines the relationship between the underlying ecological values of wetlands and the economic values they produce. The importance of the roles that wetlands play is now well recognised yet losses continue at a global level. It is argued that one cause of wetland loss is a lack of awareness of the values of these systems due to inadequate information of the nexus between ecological functions and economic values. For example, the off-site, indirect benefits provided by wetlands have largely been ignored. This has led to an undervaluation of these ecosystems. The integration of ecological and economic values requires incorporating differing types of information and systems of value derived from differing disciplines with differing paradigms. To understand the differing disciplinary perspectives the thesis explores the ecological functions of wetlands and the economic goods and services that they provide. The functions and benefits of wetlands are linked at the ecological-economic interface. A consensus on the definition of ecological value could not be discerned within the discipline of ecology. Thus, a definition and index of ecological value is developed to demonstrate the attributes of coastal and wetland systems that provide for instrumental human benefits. These attributes include productivity, the ability to provide habitats for dependent species and the diversity of species and organisation they support. However, ecological information is not presently available to operationalise the index. The ability of economic techniques to capture this ecological value is then investigated. Three approaches for assessing non-market values (direct linkage models, revealed preference and stated preference models) are reviewed with respect to their ability to capture ecological value. An alternative biophysical approach, namely energy analysis, is also considered. The review suggests that it may be possible to measure ecological value using the contingent valuation method. The role of information in preference formation and willingness to pay bids is then investigated along with a number of other issues that need to be resolved before using the contingent valuation method. The wetlands of the case study area, Moreton Bay, Australia exhibit both ecological and economic values. The wetlands contribute approximately one-third of primary productivity in the Bay, provide habitat for a wide range of dependent species (including internationally recognised migratory wader birds) and have a diverse fauna with a relatively large number of endemic species. Economic values of the wetlands include both direct and indirect use values (for example, fishing, recreation, water quality improvements and storm buffering) and non-use values. Non-use values include the value in preserving the environment for future generations (bequest value) and the existence of vulnerable animals such as turtles and dugongs, which one may never expect to see. If consumers are willing to pay to preserve these animals, this is also a valid economic value. The economic technique of contingent valuation is tested to determine if it is possible to capture ecological value by providing respondents, selected by random sample, to a survey with the relevant information. A case study is undertaken in Moreton Bay to determine respondents' willingness to pay to improve water quality and hence protect the wetlands. To test the effects of differing types information, four different versions of the survey were sent to four groups of 500 respondents. Case A provided no extra information so it could be used as a control. Case B included information about the ecological values of the wetlands of Moreton Bay. Case C provided information about the economic use values of the wetlands in the Bay including direct and indirect use. Case D provided information about the non-use values of endangered species resident in the Bay that are dependent on the wetlands. The results indicate that the provision of different types of information influences willingness to pay. However, willingness to pay when provided with ecological information is not significantly different from willingness to pay when provided with other information. As it was not possible from the research undertaken to state that the contingent valuation method can capture ecological value, an alternative approach is proposed to link ecological and economic values. It is argued that ecologists and economists need to develop common aims and scales of assessment. Further, communication between the two disciplines can be enhanced through the use of agreed indicator terms. Through an iterative approach it should then be possible to understand the linkages between changes in indicators of ecosystem values and indicators of economic value.

This thesis describes the process in which a Two-Generation model and N-Generation model can determine the optimal levels of investment in sustainability without applying a discount rate to the benefits to future generations. These models constrain utility so that utility for each generation is equivalent; these models do not dilute the benefits to future generations, which promotes equity between generations and reflects the fact that Generation 2 will have to pay off the remaining balance on the sustainability investment. The models demonstrated that as the Generation 2’s expected value of a resource increases, the level of utility of both generations and total level of optimal investment should increase. In addition, while altruism can increase the utility of each generation, Generation 1’s level of altruism does not have an impact on the optimal level of total investment. Finally the Two-Generation model indicates that subsidizing interest rates for sustainability can be an effective way to increase investment levels. The N-Generation model demonstrates that thinking long-term will have a negative impact on the utility of the current generation; utility will decrease as the number of generations accounted for increases because of the competition among generations for scarce resources. While one generation may have to sacrifice, this model determines the level of investment in sustainability that maximizes utility across the generations and can help ensure that the trend of increasing utility continues.

Environmental economics is the application of economic principles to the study of how natural resources are developed and managed. The methodologies used attempt to value ecosystem services provided by healthy, functioning natural lands and ecosystems. Ecosystem services attributed to natural lands contribute significant human welfare benefits that go largely undervalued or misrepresented in the decision-making process for the development of land. As environmental valuation methodologies and techniques continue to advance, policy decisions will be better able to create outcomes that maximize benefits for targeted populations and landscapes. The purpose of this paper is to first describe the methodologies used in environmental economics. These methodologies will then be applied to the Big Cottonwood Canyon Watershed located to the east of Salt Lake City, Utah. The case study will describe the ecosystem services provided by the watershed and value them. Using these values, the study focuses on the proposed development of SkiLink, a gondola system that would connect two separate ski resorts in two separate canyons – the Solitude Mountain Resort, located in Big Cottonwood Canyon, and Canyons Resort, located near Park City, Utah. The debate over the proposed SkiLink focuses on weighing its potential contribution to Utah’s economy against its potential environmental consequences. Based on a detailed analysis of the economic benefits and ecosystem losses created by the proposal, a cost-benefit analysis of the project will be presented along with recommendations for further study of potential development that would likely accompany the building of SkiLink.

The aviation industry represents approximately 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, however with significant growth expected over the coming decades this proportion is expected to increase. Continued governmental and social pressure to reduce global emissions is posing a challenging question to the industry; how to improve environmental efficiency and reduce emissions with increasing industry growth. The environmental impact of aviation globally is discussed, examining the significant emissions and protocols that exist and their relative impacts both environmentally and economically. The viability of alternative biofuels is discussed, determining the life cycle environmental impact of future replacements to kerosene based jet fuel. This thesis therefore aims to provide an understanding of the fundamentals of aviation emissions but also most importantly provide possible solutions to assist the industry in reducing its emissions ‘footprint’. An important factor in determining efficiency improvements is to understand the impact of particular stages of an aircraft life and the impact they have individually. This was achieved using an established methodology called Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which is an efficient tool for the analytical consideration of the environmental impact of manufacturing, operation and decommissioning. The results of a comprehensive LCA study of an Airbus A320 are documented considering all phases of the service life. The study draws useful conclusions, indicating the significance of special materials such as carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) on the total manufacturing emissions of the aircraft and indicating its operational phase as the one contributing most in its environmental performance breakdown. The thesis also examines short-term efficiencies for emissions reduction in commercial aviation, focussing on improvements in aircraft routing. The initiation of the EU emissions trading system (ETS) within European aviation willincentivise airlines to reduce their annual CO2 emissions. An alternative routing strategy is proposed for selected long haul routes, which introduces multiple stages into the route utilising two aircraft and is shown to reduce total CO2 emissions by up to 13.7%. Combined with blended biofuel, this reduction was estimated to increase to 16.6% with a reduction in ticket fares estimated to be as high as $19 per passenger per flight.