This paper examines the economics of proposed Ruataniwha Dam. The paper finds: 1. For private investors to get a commercial return implies a water price that is uneconomic to farmers. If this is the case, the dam requires a substantial subsidy. 2. If the intention is to facilitate high intensity...

This paper describes a multi-agent system (MAS) model, Desktop MAS, designed for New Zealand‟s pastoral industries. Desktop MAS models the strategic decisions and behaviours of individual farmers in response to changes in their operating environment. Farmer responses determine production,...

The application of stated preference non-market valuation approaches in settings where there are strong cultural differences in environmental perspectives potentially misrepresent strengths of preferences for different groups. This paper reports on a study that measured strength of affiliation...

The Government of Indonesia is committed to cut its emissions by 26% by 2020. In forestry sector, this is done through reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) program. One of several pilot activities of the REDD Program is the Berau Forest Carbon Program (BFCP) which...

Resource Management's Act current “first come first served” method of distributing water rights is fast becoming inadequate to handle this increasingly over-allocated factor of production. Water markets or tariffs are one way to achieve allocative efficiency. To establish such markets or...

Quantifying natural resources as natural capital and the valuation of the ecosystem services that flow from natural capital stocks are emerging areas of science. Are these developing concepts compatible with current resource management legislation? Can these ideas be used in judicial proceedings...

Section 32 of the Resource Management Act requires councils to evaluate the alternative options. Pure, fully monetised cost benefit analysis (“CBA”) is in theory the ideal preferred approach for evaluations, but it is at one extreme of a whole spectrum of related approaches based on the...

The average value of a particular class of agricultural exports varies widely across different destinations. In the event of a supply shock, such as the implementation of the Emissions Trading Scheme, can farmers offset higher costs by raising their average prices by contracting exports to lower...

The paper describes an innovative approach to stakeholder consultation about agricultural land uses and water quality in rural waterways. In mid-2012 the authors prepared a number of policy scenarios from published regional council planning documents, addressing sediment, nutrients and...