Natural Resource Valuation and Policy in Brazil


Book Description

Brazil's environmental problems, especially Amazon deforestation, have attracted considerable attention, particularly in the developed world. Peter May brings a sharper and more critical focus to bear on this topic by offering a general overview and seven microeconomic case studies on particular problems in the Brazilian environment. Focusing on discrete resource problems at a subnational scale, this practical book shows how work at the state and local level can lead to more sustainable development policies not only in Brazil but also in many other developing nations. Uniting specific Brazilian applications of more general principles of natural resource and environmental valuation to support policy-making for land use and economic development, Natural Resource Valuation and Policy in Brazil shows how such methods support efforts to incorporate environmental concerns in decision-making processes.




Natural Resource Valuation and Policy in Brazil


Book Description

Brazil's environmental problems, especially Amazon deforestation, have attracted considerable attention, particularly in the developed world. Peter May brings a sharper and more critical focus to bear on this topic by offering a general overview and seven microeconomic case studies on particular problems in the Brazilian environment. Focusing on discrete resource problems at a subnational scale, this practical book shows how work at the state and local level can lead to more sustainable development policies not only in Brazil but also in many other developing nations. Uniting specific Brazilian applications of more general principles of natural resource and environmental valuation to support policy-making for land use and economic development, Natural Resource Valuation and Policy in Brazil shows how such methods support efforts to incorporate environmental concerns in decision-making processes.




REDD+ on the ground


Book Description

REDD+ is one of the leading near-term options for global climate change mitigation. More than 300 subnational REDD+ initiatives have been launched across the tropics, responding to both the call for demonstration activities in the Bali Action Plan and the market for voluntary carbon offset credits.




The Atlantic Forest of South America


Book Description

This is a detailed assessment of the state of biodiversity in the Atlantic Forest. Separate sections examine each of the three countries that are home to the forest, beginning with a brief overview that explores the dynamics of biodiversity loss in that country and outlining the topics to be addressed.




Welfare, Inequality, and Resource Depletion


Book Description

This book breaks new ground by accounting for the welfare implications of both severe inequality and environmental degradation and developing a sustainable development indicator that incorporates changes over time in each of these dimensions. The model is applied to data from Brazil spanning the 1965 -1998 period. The book's findings cast significant doubt on the proposition that rapid economic growth in Brazil has resulted in comparable welfare gains. The evidence presented more generally illustrates the often unsustainable nature of rapid GDP growth phases, as well as the general unreliability of GDP growth as an indicator of well-being improvement. The specific policy implication is that Brazil should discontinue - or at least severely curtail - the regressive and resource intensive economic policies it has followed in recent decades in the interest of welfare improvement not only for the poorer groups in society, but for future generations of Brazilians as well.




Environmental and Natural Resource Economics


Book Description

Environmental issues are of fundamental importance, and a broad approach to understanding the relationship between the human economy and the natural world is essential. In a rapidly changing policy and scientific context, this new edition of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics reflects an updated perspective on modern environmental topics. Now in its fifth edition, this textbook includes enhanced and updated material on energy, climate change, greening the economy, population, agriculture, forests and water—reflecting the greater urgency required to solve the big environmental problems in these areas. It introduces students to both standard environmental economics and the broader perspective of ecological economics, balancing analytical techniques of environmental economics topics with a global perspective on current ecological issues such as population growth, global climate change and "green" national income accounting. Harris and Roach’s premise is that a pluralistic approach is essential to understand the complex nexus between the economy and the environment. This perspective, combined with its emphasis on real-world policies, is particularly appealing to both instructors and students. This is the ideal text for undergraduate classes on environmental, natural resource and ecological economics, and postgraduate courses on environmental and economic policy. To access Student and Instructor resources, please visit: sites.tufts.edu/gdae/environmental-and-natural-resource-economics/.







Macroeconomic Policies for Sustainable Growth


Book Description

'The state-of-the-art studies in this volume are to be warmly welcomed. The authors successfully explore the economic, environmental and social consequences of policy-failures, and identify practical corrective measures.' - Charles Perrings, President, International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE) Macroeconomic policies have come under justifiable scrutiny because of their powerful and pervasive impacts throughout the economy. This book examines the sustainability of growth-oriented macroeconomic strategies, starting from early ideas linking macroeconomic policies, growth and sustainability. A comprehensive and up-to-date literature review and theoretical framework are presented, including both macroeconomic and microeconomic analyses of the linkages between the economy and the environment.




The Evolution of the Law and Politics of Water


Book Description

According to a famous Talmudic story (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat: 31a), a gentile once approached Rabbi Hillel and asked to be taught the entire Torah while standing on one foot. Hillel replied, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself. That is the entire Torah. The rest is simply an explanation. Go and learn it!’ In much the same way, Jewish law can be described in one word—Torah. All the rest is simply an explanation. The Torah, also known as the Bible, the five books of Moses, and the Pentateuch, was written over 3,000 years ago. Since then, Jewish law has developed various interpretations and applications of the Torah, interpretations of those interpre- tions, and so on. Jewish law contains civil dictates as well as religious protocol. Problems that arose in the framework of religious life and problems surrounding civil relationships both found solutions in the same legal source—the Torah and the Halacha, the Jewish legal interpretations and rulings. This chapter on water law in the Jewish tradition provides insight into Jewish law and custom in general, and rules related to the protection of water sources in particular. One should not look, however, to find a written code of Jewish law, as there is none.




Land Economics


Book Description