James M. Broadus

Searching for uncertain benefits and the conservation of biological diversity

This paper describes a model under which the maximization of option value leads to a preference for biological diversity arising from potential substitutability among species.

Policy issues related to the establishment and management of marine reserves.

Abstract Several hundred marine reserves now exist and their number is growing. The demand for additional marine reserves can also be expected to grow, especially since they seem to be relatively undersupplied compared to terrestrial biosphere reserves. Basic socioeconomic reasons are given as to why governments should establish marine reserves. Management problems are illustrated by reference to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA) governing of Title III of the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act. The nature, clarity, and precision of objectives as set out in legislation are discussed, and the importance for management of public and political support is considered. Using economic analysis, an approach different to that used by some ecologists for determining the optimal size of reserves is outlined and the view of Soule and Wilcox favoring many large reserves is modified. The natural difficulties involved in managing marine res...

On the detection of greenhouse warming

Two facts that have been cited as evidence of the onset of greenhouse warming are the extent to which the most recent value in a global temperature series is unusually warm and the observation that the four warmest years on record occurred in the 1980s. We examine these results in more detail, and we address the question as to whether these facts constitute evidence in favor of the detection of greenhouse warming. We conclude that they do not support detection unless we are prepared to attribute all warming in the data to the greenhouse effect.

Dynamic economic analysis of marine pollution prevention technologies: An application to double hulls and electronic charts

Marine pollution associated with shipping accidents has resulted in a Congressional mandate for double hulls on tankers in U.S. waters. In this paper, we formulate a social planners problem using optimal control theory to examine the relative cost-effectiveness of double hulls and alternative pollution prevention technologies, and the optimal installation strategy for such technologies. The model encompasses the costs and benefits associated with shipping operations, damage to the marine environment, and investment in each technology. A computer simulation of the model is used to evaluate investment strategies for two technological options: double hulls and electronic chart systems. Results indicate that electronic charts may be a far more cost-effective approach to marine pollution control.

Coastal and marine area management in the Galápagos islands

Abstract The Galapagos Islands have long been the object of worldwide scientific interest. Increased demands on coastal and marine resources there, to serve a growing resident population and to accommodate potentially expanded tourism, signal a need for greater attention to the management of these resources. The paper provides a brief overview of the challenges facing integrated coastal and marine area management in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, describes a cooperative project between the government of Ecuador and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to devise concepts for improved management of the archipelagos coastal and marine resources, and reports on the findings of that study. The basic elements of a CZM and MRM system are already in place in the Galapagos, but they are uncoordinated and largely ad hoc in nature. A two‐zone management scheme for coastal and marine resources, proposed by Knecht (1984) is outlined. It avoids the establishment of complicated new systems of boundaries and inst...

Determining the structure of the United States marine instrumentation industry and its position in the world industry

Funding was provided by the Department of Commerce, NOAA, National Ocean Service, Office of Marine Operations through a grant to the Massachusetts Centers of Excellence Corporation, grant Number NA87-AA-D-M0037.

Rivalry and Coordination in Marine Hard Minerals Regulation

Marine hard minerals are being promoted for potential contribution to national supply. The timely and efficient development of these potential public resources could be distorted by rivalrous federal agency behavior in the multiple agency framework that includes both the Commerce and Interior Departments. The importance of marine hard mineral development may be exaggerated as agencies bid for constituency and seek to expand jurisdictional domain. Alternatively, impediments may be created by duplication of effort, confusing signals, false starts, and diversion of resources to rivalrous activities. Under some conditions, however, competition between agencies can serve as a check on regulatory excesses and can provide valuable diversity of information to policymakers.

A Simple Model of Over-forecasting

Abstract Probabilistic forecasts of the occurrence of precipitation have been used routinely in the United States since 1965. Studies of the reliability of such forecasts often show a tendency towards over-forecasting (i.e., for forecast probabilities to exceed observed relative frequencies). A simple model is described that explains over-forecasting in terms of an asymmetric loss function. The model is applied to some results of a previous study.

Seabed material commodity and resource summaries

The Department of Commerce, NOAA, National Sea Grant College Program under grant Number NA86-AA-D-SG090 (WHOI project Number R/S-9) and The J. N. Pew, Jr. Charitable Trust.

The management of Ocean and coastal resources in Colombia : an assessment

Funding was principally provided by the William H. Donner Foundation, as well as the Direccion General Maritima y Portuaria of the Armada Nacional in Colombia, the Pew Memorial Trust, and also by NOAA, National Sea Grant College Program, Department of Commerce, under Grant Nos. NABO-AA-D-00077 (E/L-1) and NA83-AA-D-00049 (E/L-1).