Showing papers by "Timothy O. Randhir published in 1997"

Research needs for water quality management in the 21st century: A spatial decision support system

Abstract: How can we better manage watersheds so that they can produce the products and services we desire? Most individuals want a product/service mix that includes production of food and-fiber, housing, urban services, industrial sites, wildlife habitat, water quality, etc. Many individuals, communities and states are struggling with how to manage the resources within the watershed to achieve an acceptable mix of products and services (e.g. making the right tradeoffs). Making these decisions requires greater thought about what types of data and information are needed in making informed choices. In addition, the data, information and knowledge needs to be easily accessible and usable by the decision makers and not constrained to one type of operating system or particular brand of hardware or software. One viable option is to make this data, information and decision aids accessible via the Internet where the data and decision aids reside on a central server and users can interact with them for analysis. This paper details our ideas concerning the research needs (information and knowledge) as well as the decision making supports necessary for individuals and communities to make better choices regarding the tradeoffs among potential goods, services and levels of environmental amenities …

Economic and water quality impacts of reducing nitrogen and pesticide use in agriculture

Abstract: A multiyear regional risk programming model was used in evaluating the impacts of different environmental policies on cropping systems, input use, nonpoint source pollution, farm income and risk. A direct expected utility maximizing problem (DEMP) objective with a Von Neuman Morgenstern utility function was used in deriving optimal cropping systems. A biophysical simulation model provided input for the optimization. Three types of policies-taxing, regulating the aggregate, and regulating the per acre level-were studied for two farm inputs-nitrogen and atazine. It was observed that policies had varied and multiple cross-effects on pollutant loads, farm income, and risk. This information is crucial in developing successful policies toward improving water quality. If an appropriate input policy is chosen, both targeted and nontargeted pollutant loads can be managed. The three policies varied in their effects on pollutant loads and involved tradeoffs in water quality and economic attributes.