Publication Date:
2014-07-03
Description:
In this paper, we discuss the importance of developing integrated assessment models to support the design and implementation of policies to address water quality problems associated with agricultural pollution. We describe a new modelling system, LUMINATE, which links land use decisions made at the field scale in the Upper Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee Basins through both environmental and hydrological components to downstream water quality effects and hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. This modelling system can be used to analyse detailed policy scenarios identifying the costs of the policies and their resulting benefits for improved local and regional water quality. We demonstrate the model's capabilities with a simple scenario where cover crops are incentivised with green payments over a large expanse of the watershed.
Keywords:
Q51 - Valuation of Environmental Effects, Q52 - Pollution Control Costs
;
Distributional Effects
;
Employment Effects, Q57 - Ecological Economics: Ecosystem Services
;
Biodiversity Conservation
;
Bioeconomics
Print ISSN:
0165-1587
Electronic ISSN:
1464-3618
Topics:
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
,
Economics
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