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Targeting Conservation Investments in Heterogeneous Landscapes: A Distance-Function Approach and Application to Watershed Management

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  • Paul J. Ferraro

Abstract

To achieve an environmental objective at least cost, decision makers must integrate information about spatially variable biophysical and economic conditions. Although the biophysical attributes that contribute to an environmental outcome are often known, the way in which these attributes interact to produce the outcome is often unknown. We introduce a nonparametric conservation targeting approach that relies on distance functions to cost-efficiently allocate conservation funds. We apply the approach empirically to the case of conservation contracting for water-quality objectives. The contract portfolios derived from the application have many desirable properties, including intuitive appeal and robust performance across plausible parametric scoring measures. Copyright 2004, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul J. Ferraro, 2004. "Targeting Conservation Investments in Heterogeneous Landscapes: A Distance-Function Approach and Application to Watershed Management," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 86(4), pages 905-918.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ajagec:v:86:y:2004:i:4:p:905-918
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/j.0002-9092.2004.00642.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Crossman, Neville D. & Connor, Jeffrey D. & Bryan, Brett A. & Summers, David M. & Ginnivan, John, 2010. "Reconfiguring an irrigation landscape to improve provision of ecosystem services," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 1031-1042, March.
    2. Robert C. Johansson & Andrea Cattaneo, 2006. "Indices for Working Land Conservation: Form Affects Function," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 28(4), pages 567-584.
    3. Millington, H.K. & Lovell, J.E. & Lovell, C.A.K., 2015. "A framework for guiding the management of urban stream health," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 222-233.
    4. Barbara Langlois & Vincent Martinet, 2023. "Defining cost-effective ways to improve ecosystem services provision in agroecosystems," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 104(2), pages 123-165, June.
    5. Soh, Moonwon & Cho, Seong-Hoon & Yu, Edward & Boyer, Christopher & English, Burton, 2018. "Targeting Payments for Ecosystem Services Given Ecological and Economic Objectives," 2018 Annual Meeting, February 2-6, 2018, Jacksonville, Florida 266502, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    6. Sims, Katharine R.E., 2010. "Conservation and development: Evidence from Thai protected areas," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 94-114, September.
    7. Moore, Rebecca, 2013. "Prioritizing Ecosystem Service Protection and Conservation Efforts in the Forest Plantations of the Red Hills," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 42(1), pages 1-26, April.
    8. Ferraro, Paul J., 2008. "Asymmetric information and contract design for payments for environmental services," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(4), pages 810-821, May.
    9. Bellenger, Moriah J. & Herlihy, Alan T., 2010. "Performance-based environmental index weights: Are all metrics created equal?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 1043-1050, March.
    10. Legras, Sophie & Martin, Elsa & Piguet, Virginie, 2018. "Conjunctive Implementation of Land Sparing and Land Sharing for Environmental Preservation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 170-187.
    11. Bellenger, Moriah J. & Herlihy, Alan T., 2009. "An economic approach to environmental indices," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(8-9), pages 2216-2223, June.
    12. Cho, Seong-Hoon & Soh, Moonwon & English, Burton C. & Yu, T. Edward & Boyer, Christopher N., 2019. "Targeting payments for forest carbon sequestration given ecological and economic objectives," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 214-226.
    13. Jean-Sauveur Ay, 2015. "Information sur l’hétérogénéité de la terre et délégation de la régulation foncière," Revue d'économie politique, Dalloz, vol. 125(3), pages 453-474.
    14. Zhao, Xiaobing & Fletcher, Jerald J., 2011. "A spatial–temporal optimization approach to watershed management: Acid mine drainage treatment in the Cheat River watershed, WV, USA," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(9), pages 1580-1591.
    15. A. Ruijs & M. Kortelainen & A. Wossink & C.J.E. Schulp & R. Alkemade & Paul Madden, 2012. "Opportunity cost estimation of ecosystem services," Economics Discussion Paper Series 1222, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    16. Kathleen P. Bell & Timothy J. Dalton, 2007. "Spatial Economic Analysis in Data‐Rich Environments," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(3), pages 487-501, September.
    17. Kim-Bakkegaard, Riyong & Jacobsen, Jette Bredahl & Wunder, Sven & Thorsen, Bo Jellesmark, 2017. "Comparing tools to predict REDD+ conservation costs to Amazon smallholders," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 48-61.
    18. Neville D Crossman & Jeffrey D Connor & Brett A Bryan & David A Summers & John Ginnivan, 2009. "Reconfiguring an Irrigation Landscape to Improve Provision of Ecosystem Services," Socio-Economics and the Environment in Discussion (SEED) Working Paper Series 2009-07, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems.
    19. Dale Squires & Kathleen Segerson, 2022. "Capacity and Capacity Utilization in Production Economics," Springer Books, in: Subhash C. Ray & Robert G. Chambers & Subal C. Kumbhakar (ed.), Handbook of Production Economics, chapter 24, pages 1001-1037, Springer.
    20. Engel, Stefanie & Pagiola, Stefano & Wunder, Sven, 2008. "Designing payments for environmental services in theory and practice: An overview of the issues," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(4), pages 663-674, May.
    21. Barbier, Edward B., 2012. "A spatial model of coastal ecosystem services," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 70-79.
    22. Hein, Lars & van Koppen, Kris & de Groot, Rudolf S. & van Ierland, Ekko C., 2006. "Spatial scales, stakeholders and the valuation of ecosystem services," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 209-228, May.
    23. Wünscher, Tobias & Engel, Stefanie & Wunder, Sven, 2008. "Spatial targeting of payments for environmental services: A tool for boosting conservation benefits," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(4), pages 822-833, May.
    24. Macpherson, Alexander J. & Principe, Peter P. & Smith, Elizabeth R., 2010. "A directional distance function approach to regional environmental-economic assessments," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 1918-1925, August.

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