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This paper quantifies the economic impacts of flooding in the Ba River and Penang River catchments in Viti Levu, Fiji. We conducted a detailed assessment of flood damage stemming from two major flooding events in 2012 that severely affected the two important catchments, primarily by using evidence from a novel survey administered in early 2013. We combine these empirical measures of damage with GIS data to estimate total damages from flooding and find that the January 2012 flood caused FJ$36.4 and FJ$12.2 in damages for the Ba River and Penang River catchments, respectively, while the March 2012 flood caused FJ$24.1 and FJ$8.4 in damages for the Ba River and Penang River catchments, respectively. We then estimate the cost of future flooding under moderate and severe climate change projections. Flooding is projected to become more frequent and more severe under both scenarios, with annual losses increasing by 100% with moderate climate change and by 300% with severe climate change. For perspective, damages from a 1-in-50 year flood, which is the estimated return period of the January 2012 event, are projected to cause between FJ$76.5 and FJ$153 million in damages in the Ba River Catchment under these two scenarios.

Agricultural and forestry GHG emissions are a key feature of New Zealand’s emissions profile, and New Zealand is the only country, to date, to have indicated that agricultural and forestry emissions will be covered under their domestic climate policy – the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme. Coupled with climate policy development is the increasing scrutiny of agricultural impacts on water. This paper uses New Zealand Forest and Agriculture Regional Model (NZ-FARM) to assess the potential economic and environmental impacts of imposing both a climate and nutrient reduction policy on the agricultural and forestry industries in the Manawatu and Hurunui/Waiau catchments in New Zealand. We find that adding a scheme that reduces catchment-level nutrients by 20% on top of a national policy that puts a price of $25 per ton carbon dioxide equivalent on agricultural GHG emissions could result in greater environmental benefits at a relatively small cost, but the converse is not always true and could be significantly more costly for landowners.

Invasive species pose an enormous threat in the Pacific: not only do they strongly affect biodiversity, but they also potentially affect the economic, social, and cultural wellbeing of Pacific peoples. Invasive species can potentially be managed and their impacts can potentially be avoided, eliminated, or reduced. However, neither the costs nor the numerous benefits of management are well understood in the Pacific. Thus, we undertook cost-benefit analyses (CBAs) of managing five species that are well established on Viti Levu, Fiji: spathodea campanulata (African tulip tree), herpestus javanicus (small Asian mongoose), papuana uninodis (taro beetle), pycnonotus cafer (red-vented bulbul), and merremia peltata (merremia vine). These CBAs are informed by extensive survey data that record the incidence, management, and impacts of the five species in Fiji. We find that the most cost-effective management option varies by species, precluding a universal solution. Nevertheless, the benefits of management often exceed the costs of management by a wide margin, arguing for a more concerted effort to control the spread of invasive species in the Pacific.