1,721,197 research outputs found
Exposure to pesticides, ill health and averting behaviour : costs and determining the relationship
No full textFarmers' exposure to pesticides is high in developing countries. As a result many farmers suffer from ill-health, both short and long term. Deaths are not uncommon. This paper addresses this issue. Field survey data from Sri Lanka are used to estimate farmers' expenditure on defensive behavior (DE) and to determine factors that influence DE. The avertive behavior approach is used to estimate costs. Tobit regression analysis is used to determine factors that influence DE. Field survey data show that farmers' expenditures on DE are low. This is inversely related to high incidence of ill health among farmers using pesticides
Why should sustainable finance be given a priority? Lessons from pollution and biodiversity degradation
No full textPurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the relatively new concept of sustainable finance, although very apt and timely, needs to address many major issues for it to be meaningful and if it is to achieve its desired objectives.Design/methodology/approachThe study identifies some of the major issues that need to be clarified and addressed including: defining the kind of sustainability that is envisaged; examining issues relating to the use of high‐discount rates and its compatibility with the goals of sustainability; the case of excessive pollution due to adverse selection, moral hazard and lobbying; and specialisation and path dependent systems that are detrimental to future production.FindingsThe paper demonstrates why the concept of sustainable finance is timely and why it is necessary to take into account the potential major issues that need to be considered and adequately addressed.Research limitations/implicationsThe challenges that lie ahead are many, and the sooner they are addressed, the more credible and potent sustainable finance will be.Practical implicationsThis paper discusses the major issues and examples of pollution and biodiversity degradation that need to be considered with sustainable finance. The paper also shows why economic growth without considering pollution impacts and path dependent systems is detrimental to future production, which violates the concept of sustainable finance.Originality/valueSustainable finance is a relatively new concept that is fast becoming important as financial investments are increasingly required to prove sustainability credentials. However, despite its increasing popularity many major issues need to be dealt with if this concept is to be truly meaningful and potent in achieving its objectives.</jats:sec
Groundwater overuse and farm-level technical inefficiency : evidence from Sri Lanka
No full textExtraction of groundwater for onion and other cash crop production has been increasing rapidly during the last two decades in the dry zone areas of Sri Lanka. As a result of overuse, the quantity of available groundwater is gradually declining, while water quality is deteriorating. The deteriorating water quality has a negative impact on agricultural production, especially for crops (such as onions) that are sensitive to increases in salinity levels. This issue is examined with respect to onion production in Sri Lanka. A stochastic frontier production function (SFPF) is used, in which technical efficiency and the determinants of inefficiencies are estimated simultaneously. The results show that farmers are overusing groundwater in their onion cultivation, which has resulted in decreasing yields. Factors contributing to inefficiency in production are also identified. The results have important policy implications
Empirical evidence showing the relationships between three approaches for pollution control
No full textWillingness to pay models have shown the theoretical relationships between the contingent valuation, cost of illness and the avertive behaviour approaches. In this paper, field survey data are used to compare the relationships between these three approaches and to demonstrate that contingent valuation bids exceed the sum of cost of illness and the avertive behaviour approach estimates. The estimates provide a validity check for CV bids and further support the claim that contingent valuation studies are theoretically consistent
Conflicts over Natural Resources and the Environment
No full texthis book traces changes in the concept of security in Asia from realist to cooperative, comprehensive, and human security approaches, and assesses a number of policy alternatives to management of both old and new security threats. It surveys not only orthodox security threats such as tensions between regional powers or armed ethnic antagonists but also new sources of anxiety such as resource scarcity, economic instability, irregular migration, community fragmentation, and international terrorism. Security policies of major powers such as China, Japan, and the United States, and the moderating roles of regional organizations such as ASEAN, ARF, SCO, and KEDO are evaluated in historical and contemporary perspectives. Contributors proffer policy-relevant insights where appropriate. The book concludes that traditional security approaches remain valid but need to be adapted to the new challenges, and offers suggestions for incorporating fresh Asian security perceptions into the agendas of policy-makers, analysts, and scholar
Birds in an Australian Rainforest: Their Attraction for Visitors and Visitors' Ecological Impacts
No full textWhat role does knowledge of wildlife play in providing support for species' conservation?
Full text linkConservation of biodiversity is a complex issue. Apart from the creation of nature reserves, there is a plethora of other factors that are part of this complex web. One such factor is the public knowledge of species. Since public funding is imperative for the conservation of species and creation of reserves for them it is important to determine the public’s awareness of species and their knowledge about them. In the absence of such awareness and knowledge, it is possible that the public may misallocate their support. In other words, resources may be provided for species that do not need support urgently. We show how availability of balanced information about species helps the public to make rational decisions and to allocate support (e.g. monetary) to species that need it most. Other implications of a ‘wildlife knowledgeable’ public are also discussed
Why farmers continue to use pesticides despite environmental, health and sustainability costs
Full text linkUse of chemical inputs such as pesticides has increased agricultural production and productivity. However, negative externalities from such use have increased too. These externalities include damage to agricultural land, fisheries, fauna and flora. Another major externality is the unintentional destruction of beneficial predators of pests thereby increasing the virulence of many species of agricultural pests. Furthermore, increased mortality and morbidity of humans due to exposure to pesticides are recorded especially in developing countries. The costs from these externalities are large and affect farmers' returns. However, despite these high costs, farmers continue to use pesticides and in most countries in increasing quantities. In this paper, we examine this paradox and show why farmers continue to use pesticides despite the increasing costs. We also emphasize 'lock-in' aspects of pesticide use. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
Estimating short and long-term residential demand for electricity : new evidence from Sri Lanka
No full textThis study investigates the short-run dynamics and long-run equilibrium relationship between residential\ud
electricity demand and factors influencing demand - per capita income, price of electricity, price of kerosene\ud
oil and price of liquefied petroleum gas - using annual data for Sri Lanka for the period, 1960-2007. The\ud
study uses unit root, cointegration and error-correction models. The long-run demand elasticities of income,\ud
own price and price of kerosene oil (substitute) were estimated to be 0.78, - 0.62, and 0.14 respectively. The\ud
short-run elasticities for the same variables were estimated to be 032, - 0.16 and 0.10 respectively.\ud
Liquefied petroleum (LP) gas is a substitute for electricity only in the short-run with an elasticity 0.09. The main findings of the paper support the following (1) increasing the price of electricity is not the most\ud
effective tool to reduce electricity consumption (2) existing subsidies on electricity consumption can be\ud
removed without reducing government revenue (3) the long-run income elasticity of demand shows that any future increase in household incomes is likely to significantly increase the demand for electricity and(4) any power generation plans which consider only current per capita consumption and population growth should be revised taking into account the potential future income increases in order to avoid power shortages ill the country
Nature-based tourism and conservation: new economic insights and case studies
No full text'This book encapsulates a lifetime's scholarly work between the authors. It sets out the platform upon which nature-based tourism may be discussed and debated, which it then enriches by a series of case examples, mostly drawn from personal experience. In doing so it performs a valuable service to all interested in this field by capturing those detailed insights into nature-based tourism that are often only acquired by experience.' - Stephen Wanhill, Editor, Tourism Economics
- …
