Insight into the different values of water is essential to support rational decision making about policies, management and investments in the water sector. The main objective of this paper is to estimate an economic v...Insight into the different values of water is essential to support rational decision making about policies, management and investments in the water sector. The main objective of this paper is to estimate an economic value of irrigation water in Jordan by choosing appropriate methodology fit with available data. The Residual Imputation Method （RIM） is used to determine the average economic value of irrigation water used in agriculture across crops. The results showed that the weighted average of water value used in field crops is JD 0.44 m＂3 and JD 1.23 m3 for vegetable crops and JD 0.23 m3 for fruit trees. The overall weighted average water value in irrigation is estimated with JD 0.51 m＂3. With regard to individual crops, cucumbers had the highest water values with about JD 6.05 m3, followed by string beans with JD 2.64 m3, and sweet pepper with JD 2.54 m3. The lowest returns per m3 were provided by squash, radish and hot pepper. For fruit tress banana has the highest water value JD 0.79 m3 and olive tress has the lowest with only JD 0.069 m3. The current practice of some banana producers is economically rational by installing Reverse Osmosis unit to irrigate banana, since water value is twice the desalination costs of one cubic meter. The estimated values represent the maximum price that farmers might be willing to pay for water under the current market conditions. Water subsidy distorts farmers＇ perception of water as a scarce and thus valuable resource. Low water prices are thus likely to engender excessive use. It is necessary to allow water prices to recover the real cost of water supply and to ensure financial sustainability of water utilities.展开更多
Natural landscapes consist of the natural substances, environment, and phenomena, all of which provide many benefits to people, including a sense of place, sightseeing, relaxing, and recuperating. However, the economi...Natural landscapes consist of the natural substances, environment, and phenomena, all of which provide many benefits to people, including a sense of place, sightseeing, relaxing, and recuperating. However, the economic value of natural landscapes has only been recognized in recent decades, and the resulting large-scale decline and degradation of ecosystems now severely threatens the sustainable provision of their services to society. There is an emerging consensus that natural capital should be incorporated into the current socioeconomic accounting system. Many studies valuated natural resources at local and regional scales, but there are very few empirical studies at a national level. To provide a benchmark for natural landscape management on a national scale, we use the travel cost method(TCM) and the contingent valuation method(CVM) to determine the economic value and the spatial distribution of natural landscapes across China. Our results show that the total economic value of China′s natural landscape was 9.75 × 10^(11) U.S. dollars(USD) in 2012. Of this value, the highest proportion was in the eastern and southwestern regions of China, which accounts for 23.7% and 18.3%, respectively. The provinces of Guangdong, Sichuan, Yunnan, Inner Mongolia, and Heilongjiang were the top five in terms of the largest number of natural landscapes and largest economic values. Together, these five provinces accounted for 32.9% of the total number of natural landscapes and 29.4% of the total economic value in 2012. We believe this study will increase awareness of the value of natural landscapes, and more importantly provide a scientific basis for resolving conflicts between development and resource conservation.展开更多
文摘Insight into the different values of water is essential to support rational decision making about policies, management and investments in the water sector. The main objective of this paper is to estimate an economic value of irrigation water in Jordan by choosing appropriate methodology fit with available data. The Residual Imputation Method （RIM） is used to determine the average economic value of irrigation water used in agriculture across crops. The results showed that the weighted average of water value used in field crops is JD 0.44 m＂3 and JD 1.23 m3 for vegetable crops and JD 0.23 m3 for fruit trees. The overall weighted average water value in irrigation is estimated with JD 0.51 m＂3. With regard to individual crops, cucumbers had the highest water values with about JD 6.05 m3, followed by string beans with JD 2.64 m3, and sweet pepper with JD 2.54 m3. The lowest returns per m3 were provided by squash, radish and hot pepper. For fruit tress banana has the highest water value JD 0.79 m3 and olive tress has the lowest with only JD 0.069 m3. The current practice of some banana producers is economically rational by installing Reverse Osmosis unit to irrigate banana, since water value is twice the desalination costs of one cubic meter. The estimated values represent the maximum price that farmers might be willing to pay for water under the current market conditions. Water subsidy distorts farmers＇ perception of water as a scarce and thus valuable resource. Low water prices are thus likely to engender excessive use. It is necessary to allow water prices to recover the real cost of water supply and to ensure financial sustainability of water utilities.
基金Under the auspices of National Science and Technology Support Program(No.2011BAC09B08-02)
文摘Natural landscapes consist of the natural substances, environment, and phenomena, all of which provide many benefits to people, including a sense of place, sightseeing, relaxing, and recuperating. However, the economic value of natural landscapes has only been recognized in recent decades, and the resulting large-scale decline and degradation of ecosystems now severely threatens the sustainable provision of their services to society. There is an emerging consensus that natural capital should be incorporated into the current socioeconomic accounting system. Many studies valuated natural resources at local and regional scales, but there are very few empirical studies at a national level. To provide a benchmark for natural landscape management on a national scale, we use the travel cost method(TCM) and the contingent valuation method(CVM) to determine the economic value and the spatial distribution of natural landscapes across China. Our results show that the total economic value of China′s natural landscape was 9.75 × 10^(11) U.S. dollars(USD) in 2012. Of this value, the highest proportion was in the eastern and southwestern regions of China, which accounts for 23.7% and 18.3%, respectively. The provinces of Guangdong, Sichuan, Yunnan, Inner Mongolia, and Heilongjiang were the top five in terms of the largest number of natural landscapes and largest economic values. Together, these five provinces accounted for 32.9% of the total number of natural landscapes and 29.4% of the total economic value in 2012. We believe this study will increase awareness of the value of natural landscapes, and more importantly provide a scientific basis for resolving conflicts between development and resource conservation.
