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The spatial distribution of agri-environmental policy benefits has important implications for the efficient allocation of management effort. The practical convenience of relying on sample mean values of individual benefits for aggregation can come at the cost of biased aggregate estimates. The main objective of this paper is to test spatial hypotheses regarding respondents'' local water quality and quantity, and their willingness-to-pay for improvements in water quality attributes. This paper combines choice experiment and spatially related water quality data via a Geographical Information System (GIS) to develop a method that evaluates the influence of respondents'' local water quality on willingness-to-pay for river and stream conservation programmes in Canterbury, New Zealand. Results showed that those respondents who live in the vicinity of low quality waterways are willing to pay more for improvements relative to those who live near to high quality waterways. The study also found that disregarding the influence of respondents'' local water quality data has a significant impact on the magnitude of welfare estimates and causes substantial underestimation of aggregated benefits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Most ecosystem services (ES) are neither priced nor marketed. Resource managers may fail to take into account degradation of unpriced services in their resource management decisions. Being able to estimate values for ES is fundamental to designing policies to induce resource users to provide (or improve) ES at levels that are acceptable to society. Conducting ecosystem valuation via non-market methods is costly and time consuming. Benefit transfer (BT) using choice experiment (CE) is a potentially cost-effective method for valuing ES by transferring information from existing valuation studies (and study sites) to a target area of interest (policy sites). The prime objective of this paper is to examine the validity of BT and hence whether it is feasible to conduct the transfer process and assist policy making. The paper focuses on the environmental impact of winegrowing practices in two New Zealand winegrowing regions. The two sites, Hawke''s Bay and Marlborough, have similar environmental issues and attributes but are geographically separated. The study estimates Willingness to Pay (WTP) and Compensating Surplus (CS) for ES applying CE and, subsequently, given the preferences of respondents across sites and populations, tests the transferability of unadjusted value transfer (WTP) and benefits function (CS) assessing four different types of BT. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper demonstrates the development of the Ecological Footprint within a fuzzy environment. The approach taken provides a means to understand the impacts of imprecision and uncertainty in the input–output framework, which forms a cornerstone of many recently constructed Footprint estimates. The paper uses, as a basis, an example of Footprint construction presented in the paper of Bicknell et al. [Bicknell, K.B., Ball, R.J., Cullen, R., Bigsby, H.R., 1998. New methodology for the Ecological Footprint with an application to the New Zealand economy. Ecological Economics 27, 149–160]. The analysis considers levels of fuzziness surrounding the technical coefficients in the underlying input–output framework. The results presented fully exposit the effect of the defined analysis, including the presentation of; fuzzy sector Ecological Footprints and overall fuzzy Ecological Footprint. Accompanying these findings, the fuzzy versions of certain moments associated with these Footprints are also presented, namely possibilistic mean and variance. The findings contribute to the elucidation of the potential policy impacts afforded when acknowledging imprecision and uncertainty in the data used in estimating Ecological Footprints. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper reviews the development of ecological economics in Australia and New Zealand since its beginnings in the late 1970s. A historical account is presented that focuses particularly on the activities of the Australia New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics and key ecological economics research activities. Achievements of ecological economics in Australia and New Zealand are assessed, using a range of quantitative and qualitative data. The main areas of expertise developed by Australian and New Zealand ecological economists were found to be: theoretical foundations and visions for ecological economics; biodiversity and resilience; input–output analysis; heterodox valuation approaches; analysis of economy–environment interactions; sustainability indicators; sustainable agriculture, fisheries and oceans; and energy/thermodynamics. Both countries are ranked at the top (or near the top) of the world rankings in terms of per capita ISEE membership and publication rates in Ecological Economics. A defining feature of ecological economics in Australia and New Zealand has also been its practical and problem-solving focus and the level of end-user engagement. The paper concludes by discussing the challenges that face the future development of ecological economics in Australia and New Zealand. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Pureora Forest Park is one of the largest remaining and most ecologically and culturally significant areas of the native forest that once clothed almost all the North Island of New Zealand. Systematic logging and the establishment of sawmilling villages began in the Pureora area in the late 1940s. Concern about the effects of logging of virgin forest on native fauna accelerated until 1978, when a widely publicised tree-sitting protest led to a forced moratorium. The settlement that followed stopped the logging, closed the sawmills, and caused mass local unemployment and social conflict. The long-term solution required an integrated approach, reconciling the needs of economic resource utilisation with those of social welfare and biodiversity conservation. This paper describes the processes leading up to the unprecedented financial settlement that saved the forest, plus the details of the compensation package paid to timber companies for broken contracts, and the consequent benefits for conservation and tourism. • Legal protection for endemic forest birds does not include their habitat. • Logging New Zealand old-growth forests made conflict with conservation inevitable. • Forced closure of two logging companies in 1978 cost NZ$7 million in compensation. • But benefits to conservation, tourism, have been far greater ever since. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous cultural values of freshwater resources are important in many communities, however, they are not always included in non-market valuations. While measuring cultural values can be challenging, the omission could lead to incomplete information for policy implications. This paper reports results of a choice experiment study which included a Māori cultural attribute. This attribute was considered alongside economic, recreational and environmental attributes of freshwater, all of which are impacted by the changing land-use in Canterbury, New Zealand. The results show positive willingness-to-pay for all attributes where change from poor to excellent habitat quality ($123/year) was valued highest. The cultural attribute, specifically, was valued in mid-range between economic, recreational and environmental attributes. Estimated willingness-to-pay were $40/year by Māori, and $28/year by the general public, to enhance Māori cultural attributes, where Māori willingness-to-pay is indicative only due to a small number of respondents. Importantly, this demonstrates support for the management outcome for cultural attributes, which is valued not only by those who directly participate in this use. This suggests that non-market valuation practitioners should be aware of indigenous cultural values, the omission of which could have impacts on welfare estimates and subsequent decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper tests the steps required to transform a theoretical natural capital/ecosystem service framework for soils into an operational model. Each of the services provided by a volcanic soil under a pastoral dairy use are quantified and valued. The six guiding principles underpinning the method developed include differentiating soil services from supporting processes; identifying key soil properties and processes behind each service; distinguishing natural capital from added/built capital; identifying how external drivers affect natural capital stocks; analysing the impact of degradation processes on soil properties and basing the economic valuation on measured proxies. Proxies to quantify ecosystem services focus on the part played by soil in generating each service. This new approach highlights the importance of soil change in quantifying services, and goes beyond simply determining the status of soil natural capital. The total value of the ecosystem services provided by a volcanic soil under dairy in the Waikato region in New Zealand was estimated at $16,390/ha/year on average over 35 consecutive years. The services with the highest value were the filtering of nutrients and contaminants (58–63% of total value), followed by the provision of food and then flood mitigation. Regulating services had an economic value 2.5 times more important than provisioning services. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recent global spread of the freshwater alga Didymosphenia geminata (Didymo) has caused major biosecurity and freshwater management concerns. Didymo degrades river esthetics, alters ecosystems, negatively impacts recreation experiences and may require strict containment measures. This paper assesses the impact of Didymo on nonmarket values for recreational angling using a case study from New Zealand, where Didymo is extraordinarily prolific. Choice experiment data are used to fit a latent class model, identifying five distinct angler preference profiles. For the largest class of anglers the presence of Didymo had no significant effect on angling benefits. However, other classes were negatively affected. Overall, Didymo reduced fishing values by about NZ$44 per visit. Anglers were sensitive to the scale of Didymo infestation, suffering significantly higher costs when more water bodies are affected. Closure of Didymo-infected mainstem-rivers to prevent spread of Didymo resulted in a significant reduction in angler net benefits, even if the policy were 100% effective. The latent class model identified distributional implications. While three angler classes would not have significantly different benefits if mainstem-rivers were closed to prevent the spread of Didymo, two classes of anglers would be highly impacted by such a policy, particularly those who regularly fish mainstem-rivers for salmon. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Indigenous cultures and knowledge systems have been virtually ignored by Ecological Economics theory and practice, in spite of the increasing willingness of indigenous peoples to engage in the holistic and integrative research that ecological economists aspire to. This paper draws on the involvement of ecological economists in cross-cultural research in New Zealand, to distill insights on how ecological economists can usefully and legitimately engage with indigenous peoples in environmental research. The main bodies of western ecological knowledge are reviewed and compared with indigenous knowledge, illuminating the main similarities, differences and challenges. This leads into a broader analysis of how these different ‘knowledge systems’ can be mobilised to provide cross-cultural environmental research of practical use to indigenous peoples. Accordingly, principles, characteristics, and structures of applied cross-cultural environmental research are discussed, not as a prescriptive template but as suggestions for future researchers. We conclude that Ecological Economics is well placed to embrace the perspectives and frameworks of indigenous and western knowledge systems. We strongly assert, however, that methodological pluralism needs to be practiced, not just preached. Ecological economists need to resist ‘knowledge imperialism’ and even ‘knowledge integration’ (except where appropriate), which has sometimes been the case in the recent Ecological Economics literature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Public debates on sustainable agriculture tend to be shaped by dominant political stakeholders with a particular political agenda. They simultaneously contribute and respond to the formation of public opinion. In this paper, we investigate to what extent stakeholder attitudes and interests help explain national conceptions of sustainable agriculture and how these conceptions diverge between countries with different agricultural policies. For that purpose, we conducted two stakeholder perception surveys in Switzerland and New Zealand. The data analysis revealed that there are significant differences in perception between the two countries. While Swiss respondents felt that Swiss agriculture is already quite sustainable and that international trade and new technologies are likely to render it less sustainable, New Zealand respondents generally thought that economic and technological change is necessary to make agriculture more sustainable. The conservative Swiss attitude is in accordance with the country''s defensive agricultural policy while the more progressive New Zealand attitude is clearly linked to its need to reconcile agricultural sustainability with national competitiveness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

New Zealand (NZ) dairy farms used to be the lowest input and most efficient dairy farms of the world. However, intensification of the traditional pasture-based system has occurred over the last decade and has not always been accompanied by increased efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to produce an updated reference of the eco-efficiency of NZ dairy farm systems and to analyse the implications of intensification on their eco-efficiency. Results for an average NZ dairy farm system were compared with those for three dairy farmlet systems representing a wide range in intensification practices. A low input system (LI) (no N fertiliser, no brought-in feed supplement, stocking rate of 2.3 cows/ha) was compared with an N-fertilised farm system (NF) (170 kg fertiliser-N/ha/year, 3 cows/ha) representing a first level of intensification and with an N-fertilised and maize silage supplemented system (NFMS) (170 kg fertiliser-N/ha/year, 13 t DM maize silage/ha/year, 5.2 cows/ha), representing a possible future intensification option. Their eco-efficiency in terms of milk production and land use was compared using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. NZ dairy farm systems rely on favourable temperate climate conditions and long-term perennial ryegrass/white clover pasture, to achieve eco-efficient milk production and land use compared to European systems. However, intensification of NZ dairy farms was shown to be detrimental to their eco-efficiency in terms both of milk production and land use functions and could greatly reduce their advantage compared to European systems. The eco-efficiency of LI was very high whatever the functional unit which is remarkable from an LCA perspective. NF and NFMS had a similar eco-efficiency except for energy use which corresponded to the most critical hot spot of NFMS. All studied NZ systems presented some areas for improvement where some new technologies available for dairy farms might play a promising role in the future. Finally, it should be highlighted that the comparison with European studies based on the literature available needs validation through a more comprehensive study using harmonised methodology and assumptions across countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Sustainability assessments have become important tools for decision makers. This research assesses the sustainability of different types of tourists in New Zealand by using the concept of yield and by developing yield indicators in the areas of financial, public sector and sustainable yield. The concept and indicators have been developed in cooperation with the New Zealand tourism sector and therefore provide a sector-driven approach to implement a sustainability assessment. The analysis shows that there are numerous ‘trade-offs’ between indicators when attempting to define the ‘ideal visitor type’. Coach tourists, for example, are the largest spenders and generate the greatest Value Added in tourism on a per-day basis, but they contribute less to the financial sustainability of tourism when the costs of capital are accounted for. Coach tourists are highly concentrated in a few key destinations and at the same time produce substantial amounts of CO2 emissions due to their air travel component. In contrast, backpacker and camping tourists provide greater financial yield and are more dispersed, but they are also the greatest user of publicly provided tourist attractions and therefore come at a higher cost to government than other tourist types. Camping tourists are also contributing considerably to CO2 emissions. The yield analysis proposed in this paper could be a valuable tool for complex policy decision making and identifying strategies that lead to high-yield tourism. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: To halt the decline of biodiversity in New Zealand, the government has formulated a strategy of maintaining and restoring a full range of remaining natural habitats to a healthy functioning state. Many indigenous forest remnants exist on private land, and these could be utilised to increase biodiversity. Resources for conservation of forest remnants are limited, so they must be used wisely to deliver the greatest possible biodiversity gain. This paper presents a rapid method for valuing the biodiversity of a region''s indigenous forest remnants to help prioritise conservation resources. The region is divided into environmentally distinct areas called land environments. A detailed land-cover map is derived from satellite imagery and used to estimate the proportion of natural habitats remaining in each land environment; from this the biodiversity value of any forest remnant may be calculated. The method is rapid and does not require detailed biodiversity information. When combined with conservation costs, it may be used to create a priority list of forest remnants for conservation. The Manawatu/Wanganui region of New Zealand is used as a case study to demonstrate the method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the effects on consumer prices arising from imposing a carbon tax in New Zealand, using information about inter-industry transactions and the use of fossil fuels by industries. The welfare effects of the carbon tax are examined for a range of different household types. Finally, overall measures of inequality are reported. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Much attention is focused on conservation efforts to protect and recover threatened species. As part of these efforts, many projects attempt to manage sites containing populations of more than one threatened species. Evaluation of those multiple-species projects is essential to determine their success and cost effectiveness in the conservation of threatened species. In this paper, we report on the further development of the cost utility analysis (CUA) technique, previously tested on single-species programs, to the evaluation of multiple-species projects. The results of tests on six New Zealand projects show that cost utility analysis can determine the species conservation success and cost effectiveness of a range of different multiple-species projects. The four projects that manage a high proportion of the total population of a threatened species were the most successful in terms of improving the conservation status of species. The present value (PV) cost per unit of output for each project ranged from NZ$425,000 to more than NZ$19 million. This research finds no evidence for the proposition that multiple-species projects are more cost effective than single-species programs in the conservation of threatened species. Multiple-species projects may, however, have other outputs, such as advocacy and education, or ecosystem restoration that are included in their objectives and are, as yet, unmeasured. The versatility of the cost utility analysis technique provides further support for its use both in New Zealand and internationally for the evaluation of both single-species programs and multiple-species projects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Bicknell et al.''s [Ecological Economics 27 (1998) 149] input–output methodology is extended to investigate the Ecological Footprints and interdependencies of 16 regions in New Zealand. There is a particular focus on the Auckland region as a case study example of the application of the methodology. Auckland, New Zealand''s primate city, was found to have the largest regional footprint of 2.32 million ha (20% of New Zealand''s footprint). However, on a per capita basis it had the second lowest footprint of all regions at 2.00 ha per person. The footprint analysis was extended to demonstrate how Auckland was ecologically dependent on other regions, particularly the Waikato region. The footprints of other New Zealand regions are reported, along with international comparisons. The paper also reviews the theory and practice of Ecological Footprinting, as well as commenting on various methodological issues that have arisen in the calculation of Ecological Footprints. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]