Trade Benefits and Environmental Costs of GVCS: A Case Study of the BRICS

As the international trading system has developed with the division of Global value Chains (GVCS), the export trade of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) has grown rapidly. The resulting growth of carbon emissions has drawn wide attention from the international community, necessitating the comparison of the trade benefits and environmental costs of the BRICS participation in GVCS. Based on the Eora database, this paper constructs a decomposition framework for the calculation of export value-added and embodied carbon, based on a multi-region input-output (MRIO) model. The trade benefits and environmental costs paid by the BRICS’ total exports from 1990 to 2015 were measured and the imbalance was analyzed, along with the causes. The results show that the main value-added and carbon embodied in the BRICS’ exports originate from their own countries, and the domestic value-added content of the BRICS’ exports decreased while the foreign value-added content increased.

GMOs in animal agriculture: time to consider both costs and benefits in regulatory evaluations

In 2012, genetically engineered （GE） crops were grown by 17.3 million farmers on over 170 million hectares. Over 70% of harvested GE biomass is fed to food producing animals, making them the major consumers of GE crops for the past 15 plus years. Prior to commercialization, GE crops go through an extensive regulatory evaluation. Over one hundred regulatory submissions have shown compositional equivalence, and comparable levels of safety, between GE crops and their conventional counterparts. One component of regulatory compliance is whole GE food/feed animal feeding studies. Both regulatory studies and independent peer-reviewed studies have shown that GE crops can be safely used in animal feed, and rDNA fragments have never been detected in products （e.g. milk, meat, eggs） derived from animals that consumed GE feed. Despite the fact that the scientific weight of evidence from these hundreds of studies have not revealed unique risks associated with GE feed, some groups are calling for more animal feeding studies, including long-term rodent studies and studies in target livestock species for the approval of GE crops. It is an opportune time to review the results of such studies as have been done to date to evaluate the value of the additional information obtained. Requiring long-term and target animal feeding studies would sharply increase regulatory compliance costs and prolong the regulatory process associated with the commercialization of GE crops. Such costs may impede the development of feed crops with enhanced nutritional characteristics and durability, particularly in the local varieties in small and poor developing countries. More generally it is time for regulatory evaluations to more explicitly consider both the reasonable and unique risks and benefits associated with the use of both GE plants and animals in agricultural systems, and weigh them against those associated with existing systems, and those of regulatory inaction. This would represent a shift away from a GE evaluation process that currently focuses only on risk assessment and identifying ever diminishing marginal hazards, to a regulatory approach that more objectively evaluates and communicates the likely impact of approving a new GE plant or animal on agricultural production systems.

An Integrated Approach to Evaluate Benefits and Costs of Wastewater and Solid Waste Management to Improve the Living Environment: The Citarum River in West Java, Indonesia

Absence of wastewater and solid waste facilities impacts the quality of life of many people in developing countries. Implementation of these facilities will benefit public health, water quality, livelihoods and property value. Additional benefits may result from the potential recovery of valuable resources from wastewater and solid waste, such as compost, energy, phosphorus, plastics and paper. Improving water quality through implementation of wastewater and solid waste interventions requires, among others, an analysis of i) sources of pollution, ii) mitigating measures and resource recovery potentials and their effect on water quality and health, and iii) benefits and costs of interventions. We present an integrated approach to evaluate costs and benefits of domestic and industrial wastewater and solid waste interventions. To support a policy maker in formulating a cost and environmentally effective approach, we quantified the impact of these interventions on 1) water quality improvement, 2) resource recovery potential, and 3) monetized benefits versus costs. The integration of technical, hydrological, agronomical and socio-economic elements to derive these three tangible outputs in a joint approach is a novelty. The approach is demonstrated using the heavily polluted Indonesian Upper Citarum River in the Bandung region. Domestic interventions, applying simple (anaerobic filter) technologies, were economically most attractive with a benefit cost ratio (BCR) of 3.2, but could not reach target water quality standards. To approach the target water quality, both advanced domestic (nutrient removal systems) and industrial wastewater treatment interventions were required, leading to a BCR of 2. We showed that benefits from selling recovered resources represent here an additional driver for improving water quality and outweigh the additional costs for resource recovery facilities. While included benefits captured some of the major items, these may have been undervalued. Based on these findings, water quality interventions justify their costs and are socially and economically beneficial.

Benefits and Costs in College Education

Everything has two sides. There are benefits and costs ineverything you do, the theory of which applies to college educa-tion as well.You can easily tell the benefits that you enjoy by going tocollege. The seemingly intangible benefits are that you haveopportunities to get access to the vast continent of knowl-edge,which you might not have dreamed of. With the knowl-

Nature-based Natural-hazard Preparedness:A Cross Section of Categorized Examples

Despite prevailing interests,no rigorous research has been conducted to examine the role of nature in natural-hazard preparedness.This systematic review aimed to describe how nature can reduce the impacts of natural hazards during the preparedness stage.The study focuses on the land,water,and air systems and on three types of stakeholders:international organizations,developed countries,and developing countries.Further,it provides supplementary strategies,such as immediate actions,local engagement,and research and development,that the stakeholders should apply to enhance their nature-based natural-hazard preparedness.We suggest integrating costs and benefits analysis,local culture,societal challenges,and environmental justice into the implementation of nature-based solutions.Finally,this review outlines the framework of nature-based natural-hazard preparedness by discussing the relationship between nature and society.

Economic Viability of Smallholder Agroforestry and Beekeeping Projects in Uluguru Mountains, Tanzania: A Cost Benefit Analysis

Agroforestry and beekeeping are widely promoted as prospective Nature- Based Income Generating Activities (NIGAs) to improve livelihoods while at the same time enhancing biodiversity conservation in degrading agro-ecologies. These activities can diversify and increase famers’ incomes and support instinctive biota and fauna resilience. However, evidence to showcase and compare their long-term benefits is scant. We use the case of Uluguru Mountains in Tanzania to evaluate and compare viability of agroforestry and beekeeping projects using the Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) approach. The results of analysis yielded positive NPVs for both agroforestry and beekeeping projects at discount rates not higher than 8.2% and 8.5% respectively. Overall, the comparison of economic viability between agroforestry and beekeeping projects revealed that the former was relatively more profitable than the later in terms of both the NPV and Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) criteria. However, the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) for beekeeping was slightly higher than that of agroforestry. Yet, we underscore the fact that these two projects can jointly be implemented to enhance livelihoods of farmers and support biodiversity conservation in the study area and other parts with similar agro-ecologies in developing countries. However, farmers in these agro-ecologies need to be supported by governments and non-government development partners in terms of training and inspiration to shift from orthodox farming to sustainable NIGAs.

Planning of Cost Effective Water Harvesting in a Sub Basin of the Subarnarekha River in the State of West Bengal, India

Development and judicious management of available water resources play a key role for economic upliftment of any region. The agricultural pattern and social and demographic status in the upper basin of the Dulung Nala Stream （a tributary of the Subarnarekha River） in the western part of the State of West Bengal, India, reveals growing demand of water in the basin. The paper reports different management plans involving different types of water harvesting structures （and associated different types of water distribution systems） and different crop combinations and with benefit/cost ratios varying from 1.3 to 11.2 for the basin. The study points out that the judicious choice of both the water harvesting structure as well as the water distribution system is important. Proper planning of crop pattern is also to be emphasized for reaping maximum benefit. It further emphasizes that cost- benefit ratio cannot solely govern the choice of structure and that maximum utilization of catchmental water and thus enhancement of agricultural output （and also economic return from the catchment） i.e. quantum of benefit is also important. The water harvesting structures proposed in this study can be implemented in other semi-arid regions of India having almost the same climatic and socio-economic conditions.

Advanced Methods of Evaluating Benefits from Improved Flood Immunity in Queensland

The regular occurrence and the high costs of flooding to both road agencies and communities is a strong impetus to investigate the methodologies applied to evaluating flood immunity road projects. Very little literature exists on methods of evaluating the benefits of improving flood immunity through better road infrastructure. This paper attempts to address some of the numerous issues hindering the accurate evaluation of flood immunity road projects. The methodologies presented in this paper are designed to evaluate benefits that are not normally included or not fully considered in evaluations; such benefits include reduced flood related road accidents, costs of not travelling during the closure period and additional costs from unanticipated flood events. A key focus of the paper is the consideration of the evaluation of improved flood immunity from a network perspective rather than the typical approach of evaluating flood immunity projects in isolation to each other. The application of the proposed methodologies is demonstrated with a hypothetical example of a typical rural network subjected to regular flooding. The results of the analysis, conducted using the proposed methodologies, reveals that the currently applied methodologies account for less than half the likely value of benefits of a package of projects that will prevent the complete isolation of communities during serious flood events.

A New Criteria to Apply Weight-Dependent CATSthr to Cost-Benefit Analysis within the Framework of IMO EnvironmentaI-FSA Studies

The purpose of this paper is to investigate reasonable cost benefit criteria within the framework of environmental formal safety assessment （FSA）. In this study a statistical analysis of oil spill data was carried out based on the report of International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds. According to the statistical study of actual oil spill from tankers, it is found that collisions and groundings are the most probable causes of the oil spills from tankers. Probability distributions of costs of oil spill and oil spill amount are investigated, and a non-linear regression formula between costs of oil spills and oil spill weight are derived. Using the regression formula, an oil spill weight dependent CATStm （Cost of Averting a Ton of oil Spilt） is proposed. Moreover in order to apply the weight dependent CATSthr to cost benefit analysis （CBA）, a new cost-effective criterion is newly proposed with considering its concrete application to environmental FSA.

Constructed Model of Cost/Benefit Analysis Strategy for Stem Corn Borer Sesamia cretica

An integrated pest management model of Cost/Benefit analysis strategy was constructed for stem corn borer Sesamia cretica using complementary control measures of different resistant genotypes of corn with the chemical insecticide diazinon 60%. Based on Cost/Benefit analysis result, the resistant genotype （SAKHA 9433） provides maximum economic value of production at the model point where no spray of insecticide is applied. The applications of one or two sprays do not justify the use of chemical insecticide but rather result in economic loss since the reduction in borer damage value, due to diazinon use, is lower than the cost of control （spray）. However, the applications of one spray for the moderate resistant genotype （IPA 2052） and two sprays for the sensitive genotype （CML 323） during corn growing season would be of value to cover the cost of control （spray） but do not achieve similar economic value of revenue comparing with the resistant genotype.

Thinking on Breeding of Fecundity Genes in Guizhou Black Goats Through Cost-benefit Analysis of Mutton Sheep by SAS Multivariate Stepwise Regression

The total output value of mutton in Northwestern China has accounted for more than 60%of the total output value of animal husbandry over the years.It can be seen that the mutton industry in Northwest China not only plays a pivotal role in animal husbandry,but also plays an important role in Chinese agriculture.In this study,based on cost accounting theory,income-related theories and total factor productivity theory,using basic knowledge of statistics and economics,drawing on existing research results at home and abroad,and adopting a combination of qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis of SAS multiple stepwise regression,the changing trends of cost-benefit of mutton sheep breeding in Northwest agricultural and pastoral areas and influencing factors of production costs and production efficiency were investigated,aiming to provide reference for saving mutton sheep feeding material resources,reducing mutton sheep breeding costs,and improving mutton sheep breeding benefits.

An assessment of Charter airline benefits for Port Elizabeth and the Eastern Cape

Tourism is becoming a vital component for economic development in South Africa. The income generated by the tourism industry is about 6% of the GDP, which is significant but still falls short of the goal set by the White Paper on Tourism in 2000. In the light of South Africa hosting the 2010 Football World Cup, it is important to identify ways of sustainable tourism development that would continue to increase the benefits to the economy long after the event＇s over. The main objective of the research was to explore an idea for increasing the level of tourist income generated in the Port Elizabeth （Eastern Cape） area. The idea was researched by means of conducting a cost-benefit analysis of two tourist related projects. These projects would introduce Charter airline services between Europe and Port Elizabeth. A second objective was to identify constraints on the project or market failures which would prevent their implementation. The economic theory behind the operation of an airline showed that lease costs and aeroplane operating costs are the two most important factors determine Charter airline＇s profitability. In order to offset these costs, airlines must achieve high passenger load factors. Charter airlines have the advantage over scheduled airlines, in that they will only fly if a minimum level of people has pre-booked seats. Two aeroplanes were chosen for comparison purpose： an Airbus A 340-300 and a Boeing 767-300ER. The private benefits calculated were based on load factors between 80 and 95 percent for ticket prices of USD 667 and USD 773. In addition, to private costs and benefits, social benefits were also estimated in the form of additional secondary revenue generated. With the introduction of net social benefits, both projects become profitable. A 50 percent substitution of revenue generated by the Charter tourists reduces the profits for the both projects drastically. A project based on a Boeing 767-300ER is the most efficient project as it has the highest NPV and BCR values. A reduction in the lease cost of the Airbus 340-300 could make projects based on it more competitive. A few constraints on the establishment of a Charter airline operator based in Port Elizabeth are： the lack of adequate runway for the landing of the long-haul carriers and the need of a larger liberalisation of the aviation policy by eliminating protectionism. The cost benefit analysis undertaken in this research does not take into account social costs and benefits to the economy of establishing a Charter airline based in Port Elizabeth, such as an employment, infrastructure development and poverty alleviation. Nevertheless the analysis does suggest that there are strong private and social benefits warranting the establishment of an airline business between Europe and Port Elizabeth. The economic benefits of the tourism industry and its link to airline travel are outlined in section 3. It is shown that the growth of the airline industry is a major component and contributor to tourism growth.

Cost and Benefit Evaluation of Graffiti Countermeasures on the Nevada Highways

Nevada is one of the major states that are currently suffering from graffiti problem. It was estimated that graffiti costs Southern Nevada around $30 million per year. The major highway structures that were suffering from graffiti were bridges, sound walls, retaining walls and traffic signs. Removing graffiti from these infrastructures was a big challenge to the maintenance division of Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT). Thus, the department was looking for cost effective proactive countermeasures to prevent graffiti on highway infrastructure. This study first identified a spectrum of proactive countermeasures, and then evaluated them by conducting a cost-benefit analysis. Pedestrian fencing and chain link fence were found to be cost effective countermeasures for preventing graffiti on bridges and sound walls. However, for relative long sound walls, the chain link becomes less cost effective. Rat guard was found to be cost effective for road signs;however, it was more useful for traffic signs that are located in the area where the taggers cannot find the way to bypass the rat guard. Coating and landscaping were found to be cost effective for small structures. The security camera countermeasure was not cost effective at the locations where the reduction in graffiti was small. The software for spectrometers was relatively high cost and might hinder the cost effectiveness of this countermeasure. To reduce the cost of the software, developing the software internally could be adopted. And finally, the electronic database was recommended since it was not difficult to develop and maintain.

Current Situation and Development Proposals of Agricultural Facilities(Planting)Application in Beijing

Facility agriculture is an essential carrier for promoting stable production and supply.In2020,the planting area of facility agriculture in Beijing(290098000 m2)accounted for 29.06%of the total planting area of crops(998078000 m2),and the output value accounted for 46.56%.In2022,Beijing Agricultural Technology Extension Station organized relevant departments to summarize and evaluate the agricultural facilities in Beijing through consultation materials,interviews,questionnaires,and field trips,combining survey data and statistical data to draw the following conclusions.Facilities play a major supporting role in stabilizing production and ensuring supply.The number of traditional greenhouses is extensive and covers a large area,so special planning and classification upgrades are urgently needed.Facilities are rich in scientific and technological resources,but the mode of production is out of date.It is of great significance to improve the comprehensive production capacity of facility agriculture and promote the healthy and stable development of facility industry in Beijing to increase the utilization rate of facility agriculture land,strengthen the support of facility science and technology,and cultivate the socialized service organization of facility.

Decision modelling for economic evaluation of liver transplantation

As the gap between a shortage of organs and the im-mense demand for liver grafts persists, every available donor liver needs to be optimized for utility, urgency and equity. To overcome this challenge, decision modelling might allow us to gather evidence from previous studies as well as compare the costs and consequences of alternative options. For public health policy and clinical intervention assessment, it is a potentially powerful tool. The most commonly used types of decision analytical models include decision trees, the Markov model, microsimulation, discrete event simulation and the system dynamic model. Analytic models could support decision makers in the field of liver transplantation when facing specifc problems by synthesizing evidence, comprising all relevant options, generalizing results to other contexts, extending the time horizon and exploring the uncertainty. For modeling studies of economic evaluation for transplantation, understanding the current nature of the disease is crucial, as well as the selection of appropriate modelling techniques. The quality and availability of data is another key element for the selection and development of decision analytical models. In addition, good practice guidelines should be complied, which is important for standardization and comparability between economic outputs.

Surveillance of patients following surgery with curative intent for colorectal cancer

Surveillance after resection of colorectal cancer with curative intent is an important component of post- operative care. Clinical review, imaging, colonoscopy, and cost to the community are among significant issues to consider in planning a surveillance regime. This review aims to identify the available evidence for the use of surveillance and its individual components. The literature pertaining to follow-up of patients following potentially curative surgery for colorectal cancer was reviewed in order to formulate a summary of the wide range of clinical practice. There is evidence of improved survival of patients undergoing more intense follow-up compared with those having minimal surveillance, with an estimated overall 5-year gain of up to 10%. The efficacy of individual components of follow-up regimes remains unclear, but an overall package of 'intensive' follow-up including clinical review, liver imaging, and colonoscopy appears to be of benefit. It is cost-effective and can be specialist or community-based.

Assessing the costs and benefits of improved land management practices in three watershed areas in Ethiopia

Unsustainable land use management and the resulting soil erosion are among the most pervasive problems in rural Ethiopia,where most of the country’s people live,jeopardizing food security.Despite various efforts to introduce soil conservation measures and assess their costs and benefits,it is unclear how efficient these measures are from an economic point of view in securing food production.This paper examines the costs and benefits of three soil conservation measures applied in the country in three different rural districts facing different degrees of soil erosion problems using survey data collected from 750 farm households.A production function is estimated to quantify the costs and benefits of more sustainable land use management practices.We show that the soil conservation measures significantly increase productivity and hence food security.Comparing the costs and benefits,the results indicate that implementing soil conservation measures would benefit farm communities in the case study areas through increased grain productivity and food security.

A model of supplying poplar wood for Iranian paper & wood factories

The objective of this research is to design a method for an appropriate alternative to supply poplar wood as raw material for wood and paper factories in Iran. Due to the destruction of the forests and lack of proper plantation, replacement of the forest wood by the fast growing wood is vital to satisfy all requirements of these factories. A hierarchy was used to prioritize benefits, opportunities, costs and risks （BOCR） using the Analytic Hierarchy Process （AHP） ratings approach. To evaluate the ＂control criteria＂ of the system, a control hierarchy was also created and prioritized by applying the Analytic Network Process （ANP）. A total of four major control criteria in the system are prioritized where each one controls a network structure evaluated by using ANE The final synthesis results of the system showed that internal poplar tree farming supplied by the forest product factories was the best choice among three potential alternatives （factory procurement, external procurement and mix procurement）.

Environmental rehabilitation of damaged land

Background:Much land is subject to damage by construction,development and exploitation with consequent loss of environmental function and services.How might the loss be recovered?Results:This article develops principles of environmental rehabilitation.Key issues include the following.Rehabilitation means restoring the previous condition.Whether or not to restore is not a technical but a value judgement.It is subject to adopting the sustainability ethic.If the ethic is followed under rule of law then rehabilitation must be done always to’the high standard’which means handing down unimpaired environmental function and no extra land management.The elements of the former condition that it is intended to restore must be specified.Restoring these in any given case is the purpose of that rehabilitation project.The specified restoration elements must be easily measurable with a few simple powerful metrics.Some land damage is not fixable so restraint must be exercised in what construction,development and exploitation are permitted.If sustainability is adopted then cost benefit analysis is not a valid form of project appraisal because trading off present benefits against future losses relies on subjectively decided discount rates,and because natural capital is hard to price,indispensable,irreplaceable and non-substitutable.Elements often to be restored include agricultural land capability,landscape form and environmental function.Land capability is a widely used convention and,with landscape form,encapsulate many key land factors,and are easily measurable.Restoring soil and thereby environmental function provides the necessary base for an ecological pyramid.Conclusions:The need for rehabilitation is not to be justified by cost-benefit or scientific and technological proof,but rests on a value judgement to sustain natural capital for present and future generations.Decision on what activities and projects to permit should be based on what is physically and financially fixable on current knowledge.Business and government must be proactive,develop rehabilitation standards,work out how to meet the standards,design simple powerful metrics to measure performance against the standards,embark on continuous improvement,and report.

Impact of Teak （Tectona grandis Linn.） Thinning Out and Peacock-plume [Paraserianthes falcataria L. （1. Nielsen）] Harvesting on Mineral Cycle, Pod Rot Incidence, Changing of Cocoa Yield, and Land Productivity in Indonesia

In 2009, Indonesia was included in a group of the ten biggest countries emitting greenhouse gases, and forest sector contributes 85%. This forest exploitation should be stopped, and by this research the industrial wood species with special planting pattern was used as cocoa shade trees. The experiment was conducted in East Java, Indonesia, altitude 45 m above sea level using four planting patterns, i.e. （A） cocoa-Tectona grandis Linn. 3 m x 6 m, （B） cocoa-T, grandis 6 m x 4.2 m ~ 4.2 m （triangle）, （C） cocoa-Paraserianthesfalcataria L. （I. Nielsen） 3 m ~ 6 m, and （D） cocoa-Leucaena sp. 3 m ~ 6 m （control）. Cocoa was planted in 3 m ~ 3 m distance; between rows of teak and Paraserianthes was planted. Cassia surithensis of 3 m distance in the row, as reserve shade trees. At 6 year old, Paraserianthes was harvested, and at 7 year old, teak trees were thinned out 50% population for A and 66.7% for B treatments. The result showed that cocoa agroforestry by using timber trees in regular planting pattern and accurate spacing did not decrease cocoa yield but improved land productivity. Paraserianthes harvesting produced 0.71 m3 timber and the price was US$38.0-US $40.0 per tree, while teak thinning out produced 0.07 m3 wood per tree and it cost was US$5 per tree. From 108 Paraserianthes trees harvested, 81 cocoa trees were affected, 11.9% were seriously damage, 6.85% were medium damage, and 5.36% were light damage. On the other hand, teak spacing did not cause serious damage on cocoa trees. Biomass of harvested Paraserianthes and teak supplied back to soil 543 g and 250 g per tree respectively for equalities to total urea, SP 36, KC1, Kieserite and Dolomite. Paraserianthes harvest and teak thinning out made microclimate to be warmer, humidity to be lower, so pod rot incidence become lower and pod yield was improved, namely 71% and 27.25% for Paraserianthes plot and teak plot, respectively. Harvesting of Paraserianthes produced benefit/cost plot of 43.63, and teak thinning out of 3.60. The revenue obtained from timber sales easily offset the costs of damage of the cocoa crop. It is concluded that by using accurate planting pattern, cocoa area could produce industrial timber without sacrifying cocoa production and exactly improve land productivity.