Economics and Ecological Risk Assessment: Applications to Watershed Management

With contributions from a wide array of economists, ecologists, and government agency professionals, Economics and Ecological Risk Assessment: Applications to Watershed Management provides a multidisciplinary approach to environmental decision-making at a watershed level. It introduces the fields of ecological risk assessment (ERA) and economic analysis and discusses their application to the practice of watershed management. The book presents a general framework for the integration of ERA and economic analysis to improve environmental management in a diversity of watersheds. Focusing on real-world decisions, this book describes studies conducted in six U.S. watersheds where both ecological and economic analyses were needed. Decision contexts for these studies include negotiations to satisfy Endangered Species Act requirements, natural resource damage assessment, Clean Water Act permitting, and community development planning. The success of ecological-economic integration in each study, and the contribution to decision making, is critically examined.