Benefits and costs of non-market valuation for environmental management. Benefits from environmental policies are often unpriced “non-market values” (NMVs). Environmental agencies struggle to know how best to measure these relatively intangible benefits, but doing so is important to ensure value for money from public investments. Environmental economists have developed and applied a wide range of methods for estimating NMVs. The methods vary in their comprehensiveness, accuracy and cost. Yet no ....Benefits and costs of non-market valuation for environmental management. Benefits from environmental policies are often unpriced “non-market values” (NMVs). Environmental agencies struggle to know how best to measure these relatively intangible benefits, but doing so is important to ensure value for money from public investments. Environmental economists have developed and applied a wide range of methods for estimating NMVs. The methods vary in their comprehensiveness, accuracy and cost. Yet no rigorous tool is available to assess (a) which NMV method is best to implement, accounting for its cost and its potential to improve decisions, or (b) whether any NMV method improves decisions enough to warrant its cost. In creating such a tool, this project will deliver a key breakthrough in environmental economics.Read moreRead less
Intersections between science and law: the implementation of threatened species legislation in Australia. This project will evaluate the effectiveness of techniques currently used in threatened species legislation in Australia. By combining the skills of experts in law and ecology, we will assess the role of science and scientists in decision-making processes and the extent to which decision-makers apply the precautionary principle when faced with scientific uncertainty. The project will analy ....Intersections between science and law: the implementation of threatened species legislation in Australia. This project will evaluate the effectiveness of techniques currently used in threatened species legislation in Australia. By combining the skills of experts in law and ecology, we will assess the role of science and scientists in decision-making processes and the extent to which decision-makers apply the precautionary principle when faced with scientific uncertainty. The project will analyse the existing legislative techniques and possible alternatives in the context of the current theoretical debate about the respective advantages of reflexive law (which facilitates self-regulation) and top-down command-and-control regulation.Read moreRead less
Improving payments for ecosystem services efficacy. This project aims to improve the cost-effectiveness of payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs in settings where deforestation risk is high. The project introduces a field experiment in Uganda in order to determine effective methods for monitoring compliance and setting payment levels. The project intends to examine whether program impacts are undermined by displacement of deforestation and if there are poverty reduction trade-offs inher ....Improving payments for ecosystem services efficacy. This project aims to improve the cost-effectiveness of payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs in settings where deforestation risk is high. The project introduces a field experiment in Uganda in order to determine effective methods for monitoring compliance and setting payment levels. The project intends to examine whether program impacts are undermined by displacement of deforestation and if there are poverty reduction trade-offs inherent in program design. The project expects to establish the costs of foregone production from land enrolled in the program, which are largely unknown. The findings will support efforts to create low cost technologies to solve conservation challenges and assist with the efficient allocation of scarce resources for environmental protection in both Australian and international contexts.Read moreRead less
Redesigning Landcare policy to better coordinate across landholders. This project aims to study how landscape-sensitive economic incentives and social norms can be leveraged to enhance the short- and long-term effectiveness of conservation programs. It will yield new knowledge for innovative designs in conservation contracting that is urgently needed to address worsening environmental threats in Australia and worldwide. In collaboration with Nobel laureate Vernon Smith’s team, new methods and pr ....Redesigning Landcare policy to better coordinate across landholders. This project aims to study how landscape-sensitive economic incentives and social norms can be leveraged to enhance the short- and long-term effectiveness of conservation programs. It will yield new knowledge for innovative designs in conservation contracting that is urgently needed to address worsening environmental threats in Australia and worldwide. In collaboration with Nobel laureate Vernon Smith’s team, new methods and protocols will improve our ability to generate better data and better understand how social and incentive mechanisms can constructively interact to facilitate collaborative environmental action. Results will help make the achievement of environmental targets and the use of public funds more cost-effective. Read moreRead less
Evolving urban structure, mode choice, travel behaviour and energy consumption: A study of the Sydney planning strategy. The project will analyse the emerging Sydney Strategic Plan which is designed to address excessive car reliance that is claimed to cause inefficient energy use, congestion, adverse health and excessive greenhouse gas emissions. The Project's policy framework will contribute to of an environmentally sustainable Australia and will promote public debate. While other funding will ....Evolving urban structure, mode choice, travel behaviour and energy consumption: A study of the Sydney planning strategy. The project will analyse the emerging Sydney Strategic Plan which is designed to address excessive car reliance that is claimed to cause inefficient energy use, congestion, adverse health and excessive greenhouse gas emissions. The Project's policy framework will contribute to of an environmentally sustainable Australia and will promote public debate. While other funding will have expired, the professional academic network will continue to flourish at spatially oriented workshops and conferences which will provide the means of disseminating the analytical techniques, empirical results and policy analysis from the project, thereby enhancing the research capacities of network members.Read moreRead less
Institutional transitions to sustainable agriculture: An inter-disciplinary analysis of a novel common-property resource governance system. Efforts to overcome the severe degradation of land resources supporting agriculture and human communities continue to be constrained by institutions and social norms. The knowledge needed for a transition to sustainable agricultural landscapes through institutional change is inadequate. A collaboration between specialists in economics, politics, sociology, ....Institutional transitions to sustainable agriculture: An inter-disciplinary analysis of a novel common-property resource governance system. Efforts to overcome the severe degradation of land resources supporting agriculture and human communities continue to be constrained by institutions and social norms. The knowledge needed for a transition to sustainable agricultural landscapes through institutional change is inadequate. A collaboration between specialists in economics, politics, sociology, ecology and soil science at the University of New England and graziers in an upper Murray-Darling subcatchment will analyse the transition to a common-property institution on this subcatchment. It will make a distinctively Australian contribution to international efforts to understand such transitions, and serve as a model for progress towards sustainability elsewhere in Australia.
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Development of a behavioural system of stated choice models: modelling behavioural, pricing and technological opportunities to reduce automobile energy levels. Automobile use is attributed with over 70% of CO2 emissions from the transport sector. This project delivers a new framework to assess the impact of policies to reduce CO2 and other energy sources associated with existing ICE fuel sources and a range of scenarios that involve futures with alternative fuels. The proposed framework will rad ....Development of a behavioural system of stated choice models: modelling behavioural, pricing and technological opportunities to reduce automobile energy levels. Automobile use is attributed with over 70% of CO2 emissions from the transport sector. This project delivers a new framework to assess the impact of policies to reduce CO2 and other energy sources associated with existing ICE fuel sources and a range of scenarios that involve futures with alternative fuels. The proposed framework will radically change the approach used by practitioners in prediction, and provide a way of capturing behavioural responses of car users to new environmental futures, in which price, performance, distribution and maintenance play a crucial role in adopting environmentally friendly fuels and vehicle designs. Australia lacks this behavioural capability.Read moreRead less
The global history of organic farming. The first global history of the organic farming movement explains how organic farming changed land-use, government policy and consumer habits. Understanding how this scientific and cultural movement arose, where it succeeded and where it failed, helps to better formulate policy that promotes sustainable agriculture, human health and climate.
From Productivism to Multifunctionality? Agri-environmental Governance in Australia and the United Kingdom. This project is concerned with the policy debate surrounding the governance of farming and natural resource management. It addresses the question of whether Australia can combine a liberalised economy with a shift from highly intensive, 'productivist' agriculture towards more sustainable land management and viable rural communities. The research will contribute to an understanding of the c ....From Productivism to Multifunctionality? Agri-environmental Governance in Australia and the United Kingdom. This project is concerned with the policy debate surrounding the governance of farming and natural resource management. It addresses the question of whether Australia can combine a liberalised economy with a shift from highly intensive, 'productivist' agriculture towards more sustainable land management and viable rural communities. The research will contribute to an understanding of the concept of 'multifunctionality', which has policy implications for agriculture, trade and international relations.Read moreRead less
Regulation and Governance of Agricultural Biotechnology: GMOs in Australia and the United Kingdom. Agricultural biotechnology has won Australian government support for its economic development potential but has associated ethical, consumer and environmental risks. The proposed research will contribute to the important task of successfully negotiating agricultural biotechnology futures through a comprehensive analysis of policy and regulatory structures, and stakeholder perceptions of impacts on ....Regulation and Governance of Agricultural Biotechnology: GMOs in Australia and the United Kingdom. Agricultural biotechnology has won Australian government support for its economic development potential but has associated ethical, consumer and environmental risks. The proposed research will contribute to the important task of successfully negotiating agricultural biotechnology futures through a comprehensive analysis of policy and regulatory structures, and stakeholder perceptions of impacts on environmental and economic sustainability. A comparison with the UK provides a valuable point of reference in evaluating policy and regulatory responses. Since the UK is a significant market for Australian produce, the outlook of UK consumers and the regulatory response of the government are highly relevant to Australian policy decisions.Read moreRead less