Paper Number: EE-0489

Document Date: 06/02/2005

Author(s):  Environment Canada, US Environmental Protection Agency

Subject Area(s):

Economic Analysis, Benefit-Cost Analysis, Benefits Transfer, Ecological Valuation

Keywords: Economic Analysis, Benefit-Cost Analysis, Ecological Benefits, Ecosystem Valuation, EVRI, ENVALUE

Summary: 

This workshop was co-sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Center for Environmental Economics (NCEE) and Environment Canada. The objective of the workshop was to provide a forum for informed discussion regarding the practice of benefits transfer, the use of valuation databases for such, and the general relevance of valuation and benefits transfer to environmental decision making. The workshop centered around a series of presentations delivered by a multidisciplinary group of experts and practitioners from around the world. The presentations covered topics that included: (1) the current state and relative strengths of valuation databases such as EVRI, ENVALUE, Review of Externality Data, New Zealand non-Market Valuation Database, and Value Base Swe; (2) the need for and use of benefits transfer around the globe; (3) development and validation of benefits transfer methods; (4) alternative environmental decision making approaches; and (5) the premises underlying benefits transfer.

Welcome and Opening Remarks: Chris Dockins, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Luis Leigh, Environment Canada Bob Davies, Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), United Kingdom

Session 1: Valuation Databases

• An Evaluation of Environmental Valuation Databases around the World, Van Lantz, University of New Brunswick, Canada
• The Environmental Valuation Reference Inventory (EVRI) Valuation Database: History,Overview and Applications, Greg McComb, Environment Canada

Session 2: Benefits Transfer: The International Context

• Benefit Transfer in France: Towards Better Recognition, Sébastien Terra, Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development, France
• Envalue and the Use of Benefit Transfer in Australia, James White, New South Wales Department of Environment and Conservation, Australia
• Benefit Transfer in Southeast Asia, David Glover, Economic and Environmental Programs for Southeast Asia, Singapore
• Session 2 Discussant Comments Marc-Antoine Kleinpeter, Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development, France

Session 3. Benefits Transfer: State of the Science (Part 1)

• A Novel Approach to Temporal Stability Testing of Contingent Valuation Models, Roy Brouwer, Vrije Universiteit, The Netherlands
• Accounting for Ecosystem Services in Spatially Explicit Format: The EcoValue Project Website, Matthew Wilson, University of Vermont, USA  (Note - not included in downloadable file)
• Publication Measurement Error in Benefit Transfers, Randall Rosenberger, Oregon State University, USA
• Aquatic Resource Improvements and Benefits Transfer: What Can We Learn from Meta-Analysis?, Robert Johnston, University of Connecticut, USA
• International Benefits Transfer: Methods and Validity Tests, Richard Ready, Pennsylvania State University,
• Session 3 Discussant Comments, Eric English, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA

Session 4: Benefits Transfer: State of the Science (Part 2)

• Geographical Information Systems (GIS) as the Last/Best Hope for Benefit Function Transfer, Ian Bateman, University of East Anglia, United Kingdom
• Structural Benefits Transfer, V. Kerry Smith, North Carolina State University, USA  (Note: At the request of the presenter, the presentation is not included in this proceedings document.)
• The Incorporation of Prior Information and Expert Opinion in the Transfer Method: The Bayesian Approach, Carmelo León, University of Las Palmas, Spain
• Session 4 Discussant Comments,  Erik Helm, U.S. EPA

Session 5: Alternative Approaches

• Alternate Approaches: Why Do We Need Them? What Should They Look Like?, James Boyd, Resources for the Future, USA
• Introducing Environmental Multi-criteria Decision Analysis, Tom Seager, Purdue University, USA
• Evaluating Ecosystem Restoration in the Corps of Engineers: Cost Effectiveness and Incremental Cost Analyses, Shana Heisey, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, USA
• Session 5  Discussant Comments, Randall Bruins, U.S. EPA

Session 6:  Debating the Basis for Benefits Transfer

• Use of Benefits Transfer in Regulatory Analyses, Jim Laity, Office of Management and Budget, USA
• Benefits Transfer: Time for a Peer-Reviewed, Dedicated Journal, John Hoehn, Michigan State University, USA
• Alternatives to Benefit Transfer: Broadening the Concept of Valuation, Clive Spash, Macaulay Institute and University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
• Session 6 Discussant Comments,  Dennis King, University of Maryland, USA

Closing Remarks and Instructions for EVRI Club Meeting, Luis Leigh, Environment Canada

This workshop is part of the Environmental Policy and Economics Workshop Series.

• Benefits Transfer Workshop Proceedings (PDF)(716 pp, 22 MB, 03/21/2005, EE-0571)
  This workshop was co-sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Center for Environmental Economics (NCEE) and Environment Canada. The objective of the workshop was to provide a forum for informed discussion regarding the practice of benefits transfer, the use of valuation databases for such, and the general relevance of valuation and benefits transfer to environmental decision making.