Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
TABLE 10.6
Review of Economic Benefits Provided by Ohio CRP Land
Economic Value of
Benefit (2011$)
Explanation of Benefits
Source
Off-site benefits of reduced soil erosion
in Ohio
$29.66/ha/year
Shakya 1992; Ribaudo 1986b
On-site benefits of reduced soil erosion
in Ohio
$6.97/ha/year
Consumer surplus for freshwater-based
recreation
$10.18/ha/year
Feather et al. 1999
Consumer surplus for pheasant hunting
$25.86/ha/year
Consumer surplus for wildlife viewing
$146.92/ha/year
Total
$219.583/ha/year
10.5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
This chapter starts with a brief review of the extent and economic consequences of
soil degradation in a global context with particular emphasis on the United States
and developing countries. Next, a rationale is developed for more BCA of soil deg-
radation and restoration to improve private and public decision making. This is fol-
lowed by a detailed discussion of the range of ways in which resource economists
measure or quantify major costs and benefits when market prices either do not exist
or “miss the mark.” This discussion includes a clarification of the specific sources of
environmental economic value and how they are empirically estimated.
The chapter next moves to presentation of a series of examples that apply the
foregoing benefit-cost methods in a wide range of global developing country and
US domestic case studies. The intent is to demonstrate how to go from theory to
application of BCA regarding soil degradation and restoration and develop some
recommendations for private decision making and public policy.
Several general conclusions flow from the discussions in this chapter. First, BCA
has had a relatively long (at least 60 years) history of theoretical and practical devel-
opment. Second, BCA has been applied to a broad range of problems including soil
degradation where market price signals are either distorted from subsidies, tariffs,
etc. or incomplete due to technological externalities that are not priced or fully com-
pensated. Careful and rigorous application of BCA in these circumstances can lead
to more inclusive measures of economic wellbeing and more enlightened and sus-
tainable public policy recommendations.
The first case from Zhao et al. (1991) and Enver and Hitzhusen (2006) on soil
and land degradation and agricultural growth in a sample of developing countries
demonstrates that this degradation is second only to price distortions as the most
important limiting factor to increased per capita food and agricultural production in
these countries. The second case on sedimentation of a hydroelectric reservoir in the
DR demonstrates that soil conservation in the watershed draining into the Valdesia
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