Economics and Ecological Risk Assessment: Applications to Watershed Management [Paperback]

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.Introduction. Background, Concepts, and Methods. Watershed Planning and Management in the United States. Introduction to Ecological Risk Assessment in Watersheds. A Framework for Risk Analysis for Ecological Restoration Projects in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Appendix 4-A: Example Application of Risk Analysis for a USACE Ecological Restoration Project. Introduction to Economic Analysis in Watersheds. Appendix 5-A: Discussion of Stated Preference Methods Used in Three Case Studies. Ecological and Economic Analysis for Water Quality Standards. Appendix 6-A: Using Multimedia Indices to Define the Integrity of Stream Biological Assemblages and Instream Habitat. Decision-Making and Uncertainty in Ambient Water Quality Management. Scaling Environmental Restoration and Habitat Equivalency Analysis. A Conceptual Approach for Integrated Watershed Management. Appendix 9-A: Discussion of Existing Frameworksl#&