TY - JOUR
T1 - Protecting and Restoring Aquatic Ecosystems in Multiple Stressor Environments
AU - Ranjan, Ram
AU - Shortle, James
N1 - Funding Information:
James Shortle acknowledges the support of USEPA grant no. 83556801 for his contributions to this research. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USEPA.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 World Scientific Publishing Company.
PY - 2017/4/1
Y1 - 2017/4/1
N2 - Aquatic ecosystems around the globe are under threat from pollution, invasive species, over-exploitation, and other stressors. Given synergistic effects, policy measures to address particular stressors should be developed in tandem with policy measures to address others. We present a bio-economic model that addresses the optimal management of an aquatic ecosystem subject to multiple stressors. Specifically, we consider optimal management of a native fishery in a lake ecosystem subject to risks from pollution and an invasive species. Optimal plans exist for various cases defined by whether, one, both, or neither of the stressor events has occurred. Optimal fishery stocks vary between these cases, and depend on the order in which the stressor event occur if realized. The optimal native stock is the highest in the absence of either stressor. However, the combined influence of the multiple risks can rapidly reduce the probability of maintaining an un-invaded and un-polluted state for long. The synergistic effects of the risks interconnect optimal policies in interesting ways. We find that optimal pollution abatement in absence of both these stressors may turn out to be lower than when either or both stressors are present. The effectiveness of native fish stock in mitigating the risk of alien fish invasion can have a bearing on whether optimal native fish stock and abatement effort are used as substitutes or as complements. Pollution abatement levels that are chosen without consideration of alien invasion risk can lead indirectly to increased societal costs for invasion risk mitigation.
AB - Aquatic ecosystems around the globe are under threat from pollution, invasive species, over-exploitation, and other stressors. Given synergistic effects, policy measures to address particular stressors should be developed in tandem with policy measures to address others. We present a bio-economic model that addresses the optimal management of an aquatic ecosystem subject to multiple stressors. Specifically, we consider optimal management of a native fishery in a lake ecosystem subject to risks from pollution and an invasive species. Optimal plans exist for various cases defined by whether, one, both, or neither of the stressor events has occurred. Optimal fishery stocks vary between these cases, and depend on the order in which the stressor event occur if realized. The optimal native stock is the highest in the absence of either stressor. However, the combined influence of the multiple risks can rapidly reduce the probability of maintaining an un-invaded and un-polluted state for long. The synergistic effects of the risks interconnect optimal policies in interesting ways. We find that optimal pollution abatement in absence of both these stressors may turn out to be lower than when either or both stressors are present. The effectiveness of native fish stock in mitigating the risk of alien fish invasion can have a bearing on whether optimal native fish stock and abatement effort are used as substitutes or as complements. Pollution abatement levels that are chosen without consideration of alien invasion risk can lead indirectly to increased societal costs for invasion risk mitigation.
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U2 - 10.1142/S2382624X16500119
DO - 10.1142/S2382624X16500119
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85066394709
SN - 2382-624X
VL - 3
JO - Water Economics and Policy
JF - Water Economics and Policy
IS - 2
M1 - 1650011
ER -