Maria Noring

Developing and evaluating new policy instruments for sustainable waste management

The aim of this paper is to suggest a number of interesting policy instruments that can make the Swedish waste management system more sustainable. Approximately 60 suggestions for policy instrument ...

Valuation of oil spill risk reductions in the Arctic

ABSTRACT In this study, data from a contingent valuation (CV) study in Lofoten, Norway, are used to assess the value of ecosystem services at risk from oil spills in the Arctic. It is investigated to which extent subjective opinion about the probability of a potential oil spill steers respondents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for reducing risk. The respondents’ preferences are analysed for ecosystem services. Finally, differences in WTP for two hypothetical spill scenarios are considered: one where measures are taken to reduce the probability of a spill and one where measures are taken to reduce the probability and impacts in the event of an accident. The findings indicate that measures should focus on alleviating the impacts of oil spills on ecosystem services generally, rather than on any specific ecosystem service. Furthermore, respondents’ perception of risk is higher than the estimated objective risk. The findings also suggest that respondents are more concerned about preventing the occurrence of oil spill accidents (usually considered to be more frequent than they actually are) compared to preventing the impacts of a spill. One policy implication is to focus more on policies that decrease the probability of spills than on policies that decrease the subsequent ecological impact.

Arctic games: an analytical framework for identifying options for sustainable natural resource governance

Abstract Changes in the Arctic are fuelled by a variety of drivers, including global warming, economic growth, improved access to natural resources, technological advances and globalisation processes. Further, the region is characterised by a diverse set of international agreements, national legislations and common pool resources. This presents challenges for actors to suggest, evaluate and agree on sustainable development alternatives. We propose an analytical framework to better understand (1) the types of trade-offs associated with Arctic futures and (2) actors’ incentives for strategic behaviour. In the framework, game theory illuminates incentives and strategies among actors, cost-benefit analysis and economic valuation of ecosystem services help identify socially desirable outcomes and institutional analysis provides insight on how governance structures can support or interfere with policy intervention. We apply the proposed framework by analysing possible oil development futures for Lofoten in Northern Norway. For example, institutional analysis and estimates of costs and benefits of reducing oil spill risk and their distribution among actors are used for discussing incentive structures, including the use of side payments as a mechanism to mitigate conflicting interests.

Costs and benefits associated with marine oil spill prevention in northern Norway

Abstract The purpose of this study is to analyse conflicts regarding natural resources and ecosystem services involving different stakeholder groups using cost–benefit analysis (CBA). The paper is formed around a specific case study in Lofoten–Vesterålen in northern Norway, investigating costs and benefits of decreasing the probability of a major oil spill from shipping in the area. Benefits of decreasing the probability of a spill are far greater than costs, which means that measures to improve maritime safety would be economically profitable for society. Figures showing the effects of the impacts on fisheries and tourism sectors indicate that, compared to the total value for society, the market values of decreasing the probability of a spill are very small. On the other hand, non-market values associated with the protection of ecosystem services are of a much greater magnitude. These results suggest that the neglecting of non-market ecosystem service values in economic assessments for the Arctic may cause a biased picture of costs and benefits associated with measures to prevent environmental degradation. When feeding into decisions, such assessments may lead to too little preventive action from an economic perspective.