Environmental Valuation & Cost-Benefit News

According to the publisher:

This timely book offers a fresh view on how oceans and coasts are, and should be, managed. The urgency of this issue is increasingly being recognized, as critical limits to the economic exploitation of our oceans and coasts are reached. The authors argue that ecological economics is in a unique position to address this problem given its particular focus on interconnected ecological and economic systems.

Four ‘cornerstones’ of this ecological economics approach to the oceans and coasts are presented; most importantly, sustainability is the overarching policy goal, rather than economic efficiency, as I soften emphasized in mainstream economics. Secondly, recognizing the biophysical limits and thresholds of marine systems is fundamental. Thirdly, a complex systems view is adopted, which has profound implications for managing marine systems in the face of intrinsic uncertainty, irreversibility and interdependent behaviour. Finally, the approach is necessarily methodologically pluralistic, given the complexity and multi-faceted character of marine ecological–economic systems.

Ecological Economics of the Oceans and Coasts is a unique book that will be warmly welcomed by ecological economists, researchers and academics of coastal and marine management and policy as well as natural resource and environmental economists. Policy advisors on oceans and coasts, coastal and marine managers will also find this book of great interest and value.

Contents:
Preface
Part I: Foundational Ecology, Complexity and Science Issues
Part II: Economic and Other Values of the Marine Environment
Part III: Marine Sustainability: Integrating Ecology, Economics and Social Dimensions Part IV: Implementing an Ecological Economics of the Oceans and Coasts

Index
Contributors: C. Batstone, A. Cole, M. Gibbs, B. Glavovic, D. Hardy, S. Liu, G. McDonald, B. McNeil, M. Patterson, K. Probert, M. Ruth, B. Sharp, N. Smith, C. unde, M. Wilson

Commentary:
‘This timely book is enhanced by its provision of diverse fresh perspectives on ways to better manage our deteriorating oceans and coastlines. It will be welcomed by all those who value a holistic approach to environmental policy and who appreciate the need for urgent but well thought out improvements in ocean and coastal management.’
– Clem Tisdell, University of Queensland, Australia

‘This book covers a wide spectrum of issues of practical significance to those concerned about the state of the world’s oceans. Its principal contribution is to bring together an ecological economics perspective to the ocean world. In so doing, it broadens the vision of how we should understand the marine environment and, perhaps, what we can do to mitigate or even resolve these challenges.’
– Quentin Grafton, The Australian National University

Edited by Murray Patterson 1 and Bruce Glavovic 2
1. New Zealand Centre for Ecological Economics, Massey University, Palmerston North
2. School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Edward Elgar Publishing www.e-elgar.com
May 2008; 384 pages hardcover, ISBN: 978 1 84542 319 3
$140.00