Conservation Of Renewable Resources Research Articles

Agricultural Commercialisation, Diversification, and Conservation of Renewable Resources in Northern Thailand Highlands

The process of commercialisation-diversification in the highlands of upper northern Thailand and the accompanying dismissal of self-subsistence are documented based on the findings from seven case studies carried out in different agricultural and social situations during the past decade. The characteristics of the key driving forces powering this agrarian transition such as rapid economic growth, decrease in the share of labour employed in the agriculture, urbanization and changes in food consumption patterns, and improved communication infrastructures, are presented in the Thai context. The environmental impact of these profound agrarian transformations on the degradation of key renewable resources, particularly soil erosion, is assessed. Their socio-economic consequences on an extensive differentiation among farming households and equity issues are also discussed. Finally the authors draw several lessons from this Thai experience that illustrate the very strong adaptive capacity of small highland farmers. They could be useful in similar agro-ecological zones of neighbouring countries that are presently experiencing the same kind of agricultural transition in the Montane Mainland Southeast Asia ecoregion. Particularly, the article underlines the need for more holistic and integrated approaches to agricultural development and the management of renewable resources in highland agro-ecosystems to alleviate poverty while conserving the resource base.

A game theoretic analysis of tariffs, dynamic inconsistency, resource conservation, and trade

Batabyal and Beladi (2004) have used a game model to study trade in a renewable resource between a single buyer and a single seller. The buyer uses a unit tariff to obliquely encourage conservation of the renewable resource and the entire harvest from the resource is exported to the importing nation. In this setting, it is shown that the efficacy of the unit tariff in promoting conservation depends crucially on whether harvesting costs are stock dependent or independent. When harvesting costs are stock independent (dependent), the optimal open loop unit tariff is time consistent (inconsistent). Does this result hold when the buyer and the seller consume a portion of the harvest from this resource? It is shown that the Batabyal and Beladi result holds even when there is domestic consumption of a portion of the harvest in the exporting country. The study concludes by discussing the implications of this finding for renewable resource conservation in general.

A Game Theoretic Analysis of Tariffs, Dynamic Inconsistency, Resource Conservation, and Trade

Recently, Batabyal and Beladi (2004) have used a Stackelberg differential game model to study trade in a renewable resource between a single buyer and a single seller. The buyer uses a unit tariff to indirectly encourage conservation of the renewable resource and the entire harvest from the resource is exported to the importing nation. In this setting, it is shown that the efficacy of the unit tariff in promoting conservation depends fundamentally on whether harvesting costs are stock dependent or independent. When harvesting costs are stock independent (dependent), the optimal open loop unit tariff is dynamically consistent (inconsistent). Does this result hold when the buyer and the seller consume a portion of the harvest from this resource? We show that the Batabyal and Beladi (2004) result holds even when there is domestic consumption of a portion of the harvest in the exporting country. We conclude by discussing the implications of this finding for renewable resource conservation in general.

On Conservation of Renewable Resources with Stock-Dependent Return and Nonconcave Production

This paper analyzes conservation and extinction of renewable resources when the production function is nonconcave and the return function depends on consumption and the resource stock. The paper focuses on the efficiency of global conservation, a safe standard of conservation, and extinction. Which outcome obtains depends on the marginal rate of substitution between investment and the stock in addition to the discount factor and the marginal productivity of the resource. Conservation may be efficient even if the discounted intrinsic growth rate of the resource is less than 1.Journal of Economic LiteratureClassification Numbers: D90, Q20.

The protection of nature in the U.S.S.R.: Scientific and organizational principles

Nature conservation has assumed an increasing importance in the policies of the U.S.S.R., where the geographical diversity of the nation requires a comparable diversity of methods of nature conservation. Emphasis has now shifted from remedial methods to more preventative approaches. Six are particularly important: maintenance of the ecological balance regionally, conservation of renewable resources, protection of the gene pool, conserving ecosystems and geosystems, protection of the natural environment and provision of recreation opportunities.

The Economics of Overexploitation

The general economic analysis of a biological resource presented in this article suggests that overexploitation in the physical sense of reduced productivity may result from not one, but two social conditions: common-property competitive exploitation on the one hand, and private-property maximization of profits on the other. For populations that are economically valuable but possess low reproductive capacities, either condition may lead even to the extinction of the population. In view of the likelihood of private firms adopting high rates of discount, the conservation of renewable resources would appear to require continual public surveillance and control of the physical yield and the condition of the stocks.

Proceedings of the Inter-American Conference on Conservation of Renewable Resources, Denver, Colo., September 7-20, 1948

Proceedings of the Inter-American Conference on Conservation of Renewable Resources, Denver, Colo., September 7-20, 1948