Incorporating atmospheric environmental degradation in ex ante research evaluation of options for the replacement of methyl bromide

Abstract

Methyl bromide has been named as an ozone-depleting chemical and there is a risk that it may be banned in the near future. The aim of this paper is two-fold. First, it discusses an approach for incorporating the human health impacts of atmospheric environmental degradation in ex ante research evaluation of agricultural projects. Second, it applies this approach in an economic assessment of a collaborative research project proposed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and Forest Research Institute of Malaysia for funding by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.