| Abstrakt: |
Recent literature shows a lively debate on how to capture ecologicaland environmental aspects in different evaluation methods and the closely related issue of the (im)possibilities of monetization of theseaspects. Although economists in general tend to favour Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) above Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA), part of the literature suggests that CBA falls short of being the only decision-makingdevice for environmental problems, both for theoretical and practical reasons. This paper discusses both evaluation methods and the main results of a major, publicly-financed nature conservation project in The Netherlands. The evaluation method combines the straightforwardness of CBA with the flexibility of MCA. Conceptually, it consists of aMCA, the net result of a CBA being integrated as one of the criteria. The different aspects of the nature conservation project that can be monetized are incorporated into the CBA. Other aspects such as changes in biodiversity or scenic beauty are analysed in their own dimension, provided (cardinal) quantification is possible. In fact, the analysis consists of a very simple MCA, with two criteria: social costs and a quantitative measure of nature. Quantifying the amount of nature in its own, non-monetary dimension is a key element of the empirical analysis. A detailed quantitative estimate is made of the improvement of nature, based upon 564 species and 131 different ecosystems. The result of the evaluation is a trade-off at the national level between ecological improvements (plus 18 percent) and social costs (DFl. 3.4 billion net present value). Due to the detailed quantification of the effect on nature the evaluation also yields results about the cost-effectiveness of four different instruments to create and to preserve nature. That part of the analysis shows that complete withdrawal of agricultural land for nature purposes in the project in general is more cost-effective than subsidizing nature-friendly farming, although th [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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