Acidification remediation alternatives: exploring the temporal dimension with cost benefit analysis.
Acidification of soils and surface waters caused by acid deposition is still a major problem in southern Scandinavia, despite clear signs of recovery. Besides emission control, liming of lakes, streams, and wetlands is currently used to ameliorate acidification in Sweden. An alternative strategy is forest soil liming to restore the acidified upland soils from which much acidified runoff originates. This cost-benefit analysis compared these liming strategies with a special emphasis on the time perspective for expected benefits. Benefits transfer was used to estimate use values for sport ffishing and nonuse values in terms of existence values. The results show that large-scale forest soil liming is not socioeconomically profitable, while lake liming is, if it is done efficiently-in other words, if only acidified surface waters are treated. The beguiling logic of "solving" an environmental problem at its source (soils), rather than continuing to treat the symptoms (surface waters), is thus misleading.
Bostedt
Göran
G
Department of Forest Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 901 83 Umeå, Sweden. goran.bostedt@sekon.slu.se
Löfgren
Stefan
S
Innala
Sophia
S
Bishop
Kevin
K
D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000191:economics*; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000191:economics*; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis*; D013457:Sulfur Compounds; D013548:Sweden; D013997:Time Factors; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000191:economics
D012987:Soil; D013457:Sulfur Compounds; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical