The need to protect diverse biological resources from ongoing development pressures is one of today's most pressing environmental challenges. In response, "ecosystem services" has emerged as a conservation framework that links human economies and natural systems through the benefits that people receive from nature. In this dissertation, I investigate the science-policy interface of ecosystem services in order to understand the use of ecosystem service decision support tools and evaluate the pathways through which ecosystem services knowledge impacts decisions. In the first paper, I track an ecosystem service valuation project in California to evaluate how the project changes the social capacity to make conservation-oriented decisions and how decision-makers intend to use ecosystem services knowledge. In a second project, I analyze a global sample of cases and identify factors that can explain the impact of ecosystem services knowledge on decisions. I find that the perceived legitimacy of knowledge (whether it is unbiased and representative of many diverse viewpoints) is an important determinant of whether the knowledge impacts policy processes and decisions. For the third project, I focus on the global use of spatial ecosystem service models. I analyze country-level factors that are associated with use and the effect of practitioner trainings on the uptake of these decision support tools. Taken together, this research critically evaluates how ecosystem service interventions perform. The results can inform the design of boundary organizations that effectively link conservation science with policy action, and guide strategic efforts to protect, restore, and enhance ecosystem services.

Master of Science / Department of Chemical Engineering / James Edgar / In the past decade the technique of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has been improved so much that it has become a cost effective method to extract natural gas from shale formations deep below the earth’s surface. Natural gas extraction has boomed in the past few years in the United States, enough that it has driven prices to an all time low. The amount of natural gas reserves in the U.S. has led to claims that it can lead the country to energy independence. It has also been touted as a cleaner fuel for electricity generation and to power vehicles. This report explains hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling particularly with regards to utilizing the techniques for natural gas extraction from shale gas. It also discusses the environmental impact due to the drilling and gas extraction. It demonstrates that although the natural gas beneath the U.S. is a valuable resource, the impacts to the planet and mankind are not to be taken lightly. There is the potential for the effects to be long term and detrimental if measures are not taken now to control them. In addition although on the surface natural gas seems to be a greener fuel, particularly in comparison to gasoline, it is also considered worse for the environment.

Master of Arts / Department of Geography / Lisa M.B. Harrington / While environmental concerns have played a secondary role in dam removal rationales thus far, the Condit and Elwha removal projects could signal a change in governmental and public priorities in dam management in the United States (Born et al. 1998; Bednarek 2002). For this research, I compared two dam removal projects designed to restore native salmon runs in two rivers in Washington State: the Condit Dam on the White Salmon River and the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams on the Elwha River. This thesis asks: given choices of preserving dams that produce clean electricity and the well-established lake-based habitats created by their reservoirs or re-establishing a free-flowing river to reestablish fish and wildlife populations, how are decisions made, and what does the process and outcome mean to local communities? Research interview data was used in combination with policy documents to answer three research questions: 1) What factors affect decision-makers’ and other stakeholders’ support for (or rejection of) dam removal? 2) How did stakeholders’ perceptions and opinions play a role in the decision-making process? and 3) What can we learn from problems and successes evident from the dam removal decision processes? The main factors influencing both the Condit Project and the Elwha Project were environmental (salmon restoration), political (meeting legislative requirements for fish passage), and economic (finding the least cost fish passage alternative). The primary motivation for both projects was salmon restoration via the provision of federally mandated fish passage. The possibility of regaining a valuable resource spurred Tribal, federal, and state agencies to advocate for the removal alternative. Dam owners in both cases desired the least cost option, resulting either in their consent to removal (Condit Project) or selling the dams and relinquishing responsibility to the federal government (Elwha Project). Both took over two decades to complete and were removed in 2011. Perceptions of the relative importance of removal/retention options and dissatisfaction with the decision-making process led to polarization of the communities affected by the dam removals and contributed to the 20+ year project timelines. In order to promote good will and understanding between decision makers and stakeholders, two lessons can be learned from the Condit and Elwha Projects: 1) actively seek to include both proponents and opponents in decision-making and 2) establish robust communication among stakeholders and decision makers. Additionally, preliminary evidence indicates that dam removal does result in movement of salmonids to river reaches that had been blocked by dams, and dam removal may also lead to unintended consequences related to local environmental quality and resource access, such as short term air quality concerns and longer term effects on groundwater availability.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Agricultural Economics / Jeffery R. Williams / The two topics addressed in this dissertation are both related to surface water quality. Reservoir sedimentation and water quality trading are examined from economic and environmental perspectives. Each topic and the resulting policy implications are relevant to stakeholders at the local, state, and federal levels. Reservoir sedimentation has been recognized as a major environmental, social, and economic issue in much of the Midwestern US. There is an effort to focus public and private funds to achieve the greatest return on the investment from soil erosion and sediment reduction strategies. How can physiographical and economic relationships within the watershed be quantified in such a way to provide insights into the selection of alternative management strategies? This study focuses on answering that question by integrating a physically-based watershed model with an economic analysis of alternative sedimentation reduction strategies for the case of Tuttle Creek Lake located in northeastern Kansas. Several key finding of this study are that both physiographical and economic factors must be considered for cost-effective conservation to occur. Considering these factors and targeting BMP implementation from 8 to 23 times more cost-effective than random implementation. If targeting cannot be done effectively or if “intangible” costs of BMP implementation are too large, dredging is likely to be more cost-effective. While this research compares the cost-effectiveness of various BMP implementation approaches in Kansas with dredging, the benefits associated with each of these strategies is not addressed. While there is substantial evidence that nonpoint sources have lower nutrient reduction costs than point sources, experience with water quality trading (WQT) reveals a common theme: little or no trading activity. These outcomes suggest the presence of obstacles to trading that were not recognized in the design of existing programs. To examine the ways that various market imperfections may impact the performance of a WQT market, an agent-based model is constructed, which simulates a hypothetical point-nonpoint market. This study first presents an overview of the concepts and simulation modeling technique used and then analyzes the effects of two prominent market impediments identified in the WQT literature: information levels and trading ratios. The results imply that if market designers feel that only a limited number of trades will be consummated, creating an institution that provides accessible information about buyers’ prices is preferred to providing information about sellers’ prices. Overall, more information is always better, but it becomes less important with higher trading ratios.

The problem of weak economic development in Nigeria despite a substantial inflow of revenues from oil exports especially from the early 1970s and other subsequent periods is an important issue to examine. This outcome presents a number of problems for any government regime in Nigeria seeking to provide solutions to enable the country to escape the adverse effects of natural resource wealth. At present, the Nigerian government is still struggling to find solutions to tackle the deteriorating state of affairs, particularly in terms of unemployment, rising food prices and internal security. The main aim of this study is to help understand the dynamic relationship between natural resource wealth and economic development. This research study analyses the trajectory of economic and political development in Nigeria over the period 1960 to 2010. This study employs historical political economy and empirical approaches in examining the relationship between oil wealth and economic development. This method distinguishes the study from others carried out in the literature, particularly from those on Nigeria where the common approach in this strand has been to examine the relationship using economic theories alone. The rationale for the approach employed in this study is that Nigeria has its own unique development in terms of politics, which has been influenced by the social structure and colonial history of the country and thus the impact of oil on economic growth should be investigated separately using a historical and empirical approach so as to capture time trend interactions between societal issues, politics and economic outcomes. First, this study examined the relationship between oil and economic performance using social, political and economic factors such as ethnic and regional differences, political instability, changes in ownership structure of the oil sector and government expenditure, which is largely financed by oil revenues. Next, the research empirically examined the impact of these factors on economic sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing. Afterwards, it analyses the impact of political and economic events in the preceding periods on the current or subsequent period that coincided with a return to democratic rule on major economic sectors. In general, the results show that the period, which marked a transition to a stable political regime, has no impact on economic performance from 1999 - 2010. Implicitly, this means that democracy in isolation is not a process that accompanies economic development and that a strong policy which could foster national unity and overcome regional and ethnic differences is needed. In order to promote sound economic development this policy should be dynamic, specific and directed to the promotion of a national agenda that will target and benefit important sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing through creating forward and backward linkages in a multiplier effect.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / A presenÃa de bactÃrias fixadoras de nitrogÃnio atmosfÃrico tem sido evidenciada em diferentes espÃcies, incluindo leguminosas, gramÃneas, frutÃferas, entre outras plantas. Tem-se por hipÃtese que as cactÃceas estabelecem naturalmente associaÃÃo com as bactÃrias diazotrÃficas endofÃticas e podem se beneficiar da interaÃÃo planta-bactÃria na fase de crescimento inicial. Este estudo teve por objetivo isolar e caracterizar bactÃrias diazotrÃficas associadas Ãs cactÃceas do semiÃrido e avaliar sua contribuiÃÃo no crescimento de mudas de Mandacaru. A anÃlise da ocorrÃncia de bactÃrias diazotrÃficas foi realizada em dezembro de 2011, coletando-se amostras de raÃzes de partes aÃreas de Cereus jamacaru e Melocactus zehntneri, na EstaÃÃo EcolÃgica (ESEC) de Aiuaba, CearÃ, Brasil. A presenÃa das bactÃrias endofÃticas foi confirmada nas cactÃceas nativas e as estirpes bacterianas caracterizadas pela fisiologia de crescimento em meios artificiais, sob condiÃÃo de fixaÃÃo biolÃgica de nitrogÃnio. Representantes destes grupos bacterianos foram inoculados em mudas micropropagadas de Mandacaru. ApÃs seis meses de cultivo em casa de vegetaÃÃo, os Mandacarus apresentaram crescimento similar independente da inoculaÃÃo com endÃfitos. Todas as bactÃrias isoladas apresentaram habilidade em solubilizar fosfato inorgÃnico no meio Pikoskaya. As bactÃrias endofÃticas oriundas dos cactos nativos diferem na forma de crescimento sob condiÃÃo de fixaÃÃo biolÃgica de nitrogÃnio e pelo uso de fontes de carbono. As sete estirpes bacterianas testadas nÃo influenciaram o crescimento inicial de Mandacarus em substrato composto de casca de arroz parcialmente carbonizada, vermiculita e vermicomposto. / The presence of nitrogen-fixing bacteria has been observed in various plant species, including legumes, grasses, and fruit plants. It has been hypothesized that the cactus from semiarid region naturally establishes association with endophytic bacteria and take advantages from plant-bacteria interaction in the initial growth phase. This study aimed to isolate and characterize diazotrophic from cactus in semiarid and evaluate their contribution on the growth of Mandacaru seedlings. The survey of occurrence of diazotrophs was held in December 2011, collecting samples from roots and aerial parts of Mandacaru (Cereus jamacaru) and Coroa-de-frade (Melocactus zehntneri) at the Ecological Station of Aiuaba, state of CearÃ, Brazil. The presence of endophytic bacteria was confirmed in native cacti and bacterial strains characterized by the physiology of growth on artificial medium, on condition of biological nitrogen fixation. Representative strains from homogeneous bacterial groups were used to inoculate Mandacaru seedlings. After six months of growing in greenhouse, the Mandacaru seedlings showed similar growth independently of bacterial inoculation. All bacteria obtained cacti showed ability showed ability to solubilize inorganic phosphate in medium Pikoskaya. The endophytes obtained differ in growth condition under nitrogen fixation and by using different carbon sources. The seven bacterial strains tested did not affect significantly the initial growth of Mandacaru in substrates with rice hulls partially burned, vermiculite and humus.

abstract: Design is a fundamental human activity through which we attempt to navigate and manipulate the world around us for our survival, pleasure, and benefit. As human society has evolved, so too has the complexity and impact of our design activities on the environment. Now clearly intertwined as a complex social-ecological system at the global scale, we struggle in our ability to understand, design, implement, and manage solutions to complex global issues such as climate change, water scarcity, food security, and natural disasters. Some have asserted that this is because complex adaptive systems, like these, are moving targets that are only partially designed and partially emergent and self-organizing. Furthermore, these types of systems are difficult to understand and control due to the inherent dynamics of "wicked problems", such as: uncertainty, social dilemmas, inequities, and trade-offs involving multiple feedback loops that sometimes cause both the problems and their potential solutions to shift and evolve together. These problems do not, however, negate our collective need to effectively design, produce, and implement strategies that allow us to appropriate, distribute, manage and sustain the resources on which we depend. Design, however, is not well understood in the context of complex adaptive systems involving common-pool resources. In addition, the relationship between our attempts at control and performance at the system-level over time is not well understood either. This research contributes to our understanding of design in common-pool resource systems by using a multi-methods approach to investigate longitudinal data on an innovative participatory design intervention implemented in nineteen small-scale, farmer-managed irrigation systems in the Indrawati River Basin of Nepal over the last three decades. The intervention was intended as an experiment in using participatory planning, design and construction processes to increase food security and strengthen the self-sufficiency and self-governing capacity of resource user groups within the poorest district in Nepal. This work is the first time that theories of participatory design-processes have been empirically tested against longitudinal data on a number of small-scale, locally managed common-pool resource systems. It clarifies and helps to develop a theory of design in this setting for both scientific and practical purposes. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Environmental Social Science 2018

My dissertation develops and analyzes ecological economic models to study the complex dynamics of an ecological economic system (EES) and investigate various conditions and measures which can sustain a developing economy over the long term in view of resilience and sustainability. Because of the intrinsic complexity of the system, I take a systems approach, using economics as the foundation for the basic structure of an ecological economic model, and system dynamics as the method to build and analyze such a complex ecological economic model. Throughout my dissertation, the model developed by Brander and Taylor (1998) is adopted as a baseline model (henceforth the BT model). The BT model explains population-resource dynamics and is characterized as a general equilibrium version of the Gordon-Schaefer Model, using a variation of the Lotka-Volterra predator-prey model. The findings are presented as three articles. The first article provides a comprehensive analysis of the BT model and its descendants, to elicit directions for further research, including population growth logic, substitutability, innovation, capital accumulation, property rights and institutional designs, and modeling approach. The second article extends the BT model to study the resilience of an EES reflecting three key issues in modeling such systems: 1) appropriate system boundary, 2) non-convexity of ecosystems, and 3) adaptation. The article discusses two types of thresholds: the ecological threshold, a threshold for an ecological system independent of economic systems, and the ecological economic threshold, a threshold for an EES. The latter is often different from the former and is highly dynamic and context dependent. The third article is another extension of the BT model to study the sustainability of an EES by implementing the suggestions made by the first article except for property rights and institutional designs. The main focus is on the impact of endogenous innovation regarding input substitutability on the system sustainability. The main finding is that improvement in the input substitutability, ceteris paribus, may not contribute to sustainable development despite its contribution to expanding the economy. However, it could be possible for susbstitutability improvements to contribute to sustainable development when combined with other specific types of technological progress.

Unaccountable corporate polluters profit short term at the expense of global economic sustainability. The purpose of the study was to determine if carbon dioxide (CO2) penalties on the airline emissions would result in financial statement disclosure and emission mitigation. Contributing to environmental accounting, the study was based in corporate social responsibility with a conceptual framework based on economically-centered CO2 studies. A random sample of 69 global airlines, taken from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) memberships, was stratified between EU bound and non-EU bound airlines. The research questions explored (a) the frequency mean differences in disclosed CO2 costs between the strata based upon the European Union's environmental trading scheme (EU-ETS) and (b) whether international financial reporting standards (IFRS) influenced the financial statement reporting of CO2 emissions costs. Financial statement data were analyzed in a 3-year longitudinal, ex-post, quasi-experimental, repeated measures factorial ANOVA and ANCOVA, pretest-posttest control group design. The results showed significant CO2 disclosure differences between the experimental (EU bound) airlines and control group (non-EU) airlines and for those airlines with IFRS prepared statements. These results should convince accounting practitioners that the quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas pollution can become the catalyst for improved operations and commercial sustainability. Positive social change to mitigate anthropogenic pollution should result and should promote normative accounting practice to hold those responsible to a higher global accountability.

The monitoring and assessment of prawn populations in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, has been identified as a continuing research priority by both the fishing industry and the fisheries managers. This dissertation presents a series of dynamic population models developed to evaluate the status of the eastern king prawn (Melicertus plebejus) and eastern school prawn (Metapenaeus macleayi) populations within NSW and to analyse the relative performance of a number of alternative management strategies involving the three fisheries that target these species. Monthly commercial prawn catch and effort data from 1984 to 2006 were used to calibrate the stock assessment models. Where possible, the results of previous research were used to develop the structure of the model and to provide estimates of biological parameters. A process of increasing model complexity, including the addition of physical processes, such as river discharge events and economic considerations, was undertaken in an attempt to develop the most appropriate model for the analysis of management strategies. The first model presented was used to undertake a single-species assessment of the eastern king prawn stock and was based on a delay-difference population model with four different representations of recruitment. This model was calibrated to observations using the Bayesian sampling/importance re-sampling method and used to test the effect of significant changes in the future catch on the stock. The second model presented is a size-based metapopulation model which incorporated the dynamics of school prawns over three habitats, being harvested by three different fishing methods. This model was used to test the effect of alternative climate variability scenarios on the stock. The third model presented is a multi-species, multi-fishery bio-economic model. This model was used to examine the impact of nine alternative economic scenarios, incorporating various combinations of input costs and product prices. The results from the use of these models indicated that neither of the prawn population appeared to be over-exploited. The analyses also indicated that none of the alternative management strategies were found to stand-out enough to justify a move away from the current management strategy of input controls and spatio-temporal closures, even under a range of future scenarios including climate change and large movements in input costs and product prices.