Integrated assessment of water framework directive nitrate reduction measures

Title
Integrated assessment of water framework directive nitrate reduction measures
Publication Date
2010
Author(s)
Fezzi, C
Hutchins, M
Rigby, D
Bateman, I J
Posen, P
Hadley, David
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8634-2586
Email: dhadley@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:dhadley
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc
Place of publication
United States of America
DOI
10.1111/j.1574-0862.2009.00430.x
UNE publication id
une:10839
Abstract
This article illustrates a statistical approach for deriving farm economic impacts of policy options aiming to reduce nitrate diffuse pollution. Building upon Fezzi et al. (2008), who assess the costs of Water Framework Directive-related measures on farm accounts data, we estimate regression models allowing such costs to be predicted for any region for which land use patterns and livestock numbers are known. We derive economic impacts in terms of changes in farm gross margin for (a) reducing inorganic fertilizer application, (b) reducing livestock stocking rates, and (c) converting arable land to ungrazed grassland. A case study of the agriculturally diverse Yorkshire Derwent catchment, in the North of England, demonstrates the overall approach. In addition, for this illustration, we combine these cost estimates with prediction of the water quality changes arising from each measure, derived via an integrated hydrological model of the Derwent. This allows a comparison of cost-effectiveness. Finally, we implement our spatially explicit approach to target the measures to specific subcatchments identified as being of particular environmental policy interest.
Link
Citation
Agricultural Economics, 41(2), p. 123-134
ISSN
1574-0862
0169-5150
Start page
123
End page
134

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