John J. Boland

Counterpart Models in Facility Location Science and Reserve Selection Science

Five classes of zero–one programming models for discrete facility location problems are compared to counterpart models for the selection of conservation reserves. The basic problem of siting facilities to cover demand for services is analogous to the problem of selecting reserves to support species diversity. The classes of models include the set covering and maximal covering models, as well as models for backup and redundant coverage. Issues of reliability and uncertainty are addressed by chance constrained covering models and maximal expected covering models. Exact and heuristic solution approaches are discussed. Multi-objective and economic issues are considered.

Assessing Urban Water Use and the Role of Water Conservation Measures under Climate Uncertainty

There has been substantial analysis of the possible impact of climate change on water supply, especially with respect to runoff and river flows. Less attention has been given to urban water use. Little is known of the suitability of various water use forecasting models for predicting climate impacts or of the best procedures for assessing this issue. This paper will: (1) demonstrate the feasibility of a scenario approach to describing possible changes in climate, (2) evaluate the IWR-MAIN model as a source of plausible water use forecasts given uncertain future climate, (3) test the effectiveness of conservation and pricing interventions in reversing the postulated effects of climate change, and (4) assess the significance of climate change for future urban water management. Other possible responses to climate change, such as supply augmentation, are not explicitly considered. Using data for the Washington (DC) metropolitan area, the study reveals problems with IWR-MAIN version 5.1 when used for this purpose, but results in a reasonable assessment of the possible water use consequences of climate change. Variation in future water use due to climate uncertainty was found to be moderate compared to other uncertain influences, and well within reach of feasible policy interventions.

Benefits, Costs and Cooperation in Greenhouse Gas Abatement

Abatement cost and benefit projections through 2100are computed, assembled and interpreted with respectto various levels of emission reduction. Mathematicalexpressions describing regional costs and benefits asa function of abatement strategy are developed. Usingthese data and expressions, optimal abatementstrategies are defined for noncooperative andcooperative (Pareto optimal) policies. Thecooperative solution calls for an average emissionsreduction of 16.6 percent over the 1990–2100 period,as compared to 5.8 percent in the noncooperative case. Achieving the cooperative solution would require sidepayments to China and potentially to the U.S., as wellas stringent (though beneficial) restrictions onnon-OECD countries. It is argued that Paretooptimality is technically achievable but possiblyinfeasible in the real world.

Assessment of environmental policy implementation in solid waste management in Kathmandu, Nepal:

In Nepal, full-fledged environmental legislation was rare before the democratic constitution of 1990. The first law covering the environment and sustainability was the Environment Protection Act 1997. While the Solid Waste Act was introduced in 1987, the problem of solid waste management still surfaces in Kathmandu. In order to understand the bedrock of this unrelenting failure in solid waste management, the manuscript digs deeper into policy implementation by dissecting solid waste rules, environmental legislations, relevant local laws, and solid waste management practices in Kathmandu, Nepal. A very rich field study that included surveys, interviews, site visits, and literature review provided the basis for the article. The study shows that volumes of new Nepalese rules are crafted without effective enforcement of their predecessors and there is a frequent power struggle between local government bodies and central authority in implementing the codes and allocating resources in solid waste management. The study concludes that Kathmandu does not require any new instrument to address solid waste problems; instead, it needs creation of local resources, execution of local codes, and commitment from central government to allow free exercise of these policies.

Measuring the Benefits of Water Quality Improvement: Recent U.S. Practice

Recent U.S. practice in measuring the benefits of water quality improvement is reviewed and interpreted. Particular attention is given to distinctions between market-based methods, where actual markets in resource services or in related commodities are assumed, and non-market-based methods, which make use of administered valuations or of hypothetical markets. Issues associated with the use of non-market-based methods in centrally planned economies are briefly reviewed.

CERCLA natural resource damages: uses and misuses of economic theory

ABSTRACT Prior to CERCLA, litigation under existing tort law was widely perceived as an ineffective means of imposing penalties on dischargers of hazardous waste. In drafting CERCLA, Congress created a cause of action for state and federal trustees against a broad class of defendants, and introduced the concept of natural resource damages. The intent was clearly to insure compensation for all injury, past and future, regardless of the identity of the victim. This is consistent with conventional economic analysis, which defines damage as the net diminution in the present value of all services provided by a natural resource. When the regulations implementing the Act were issued, however, they conflicted with economic theory on several grounds, misapplying some concepts and omitting others. As they now stand, the regulations severely constrain both the scope and reach of natural resource damages.