PARENT SESSION
MP7 - Integration of Risk Assessment & Economics in Risk Management
Chair: Toll, John1, 1 Parametrix, Inc., Kirkland, WA
Co-chair: DeForest, David2, 2 Parametrix, Inc., Bothell, WA
2:10 PM to 5:30 PM - Monday, 18 November 2002
Room Ballroom A
(301) The Habitat-based Replacement Cost method for assessing environmental impacts.
Beltman, Douglas*,1, Allen, David1, Mills, David1, 1 Stratus Consulting, Boulder, CO, USA
ABSTRACT- The habitat-based replacement cost (HRC) method is a recently developed method to estimate the societal costs associated with offsetting losses of biota and other natural resources caused by environmental impacts. The method is applicable when three conditions can be met: 1) losses of biota and other natural resources caused by an environmental impact can be quantified; 2) gains of biota and other natural resources caused by habitat restoration can be quantified; and 3) there is sufficient experience with relevant habitat restorations to estimate costs and to demonstrate societal value for such restorations. The results of the HRC method can be used to compare the costs of different approaches to minimizing environmental impacts, and has several key advantages for natural resource managers and agencies. First, HRC encompasses the full range of ecological and human services provided by biota lost to environmental impacts. Second, HRC provides a relatively inexpensive alternative to other economics methods, such as contingent valuation, conjoint analysis, and total value equivalency, which rely on public surveys and sophisticated economics models. Third, HRC is based on Habitat Equivalency Analysis (HEA), which has been upheld by federal courts and used widely by natural resource trustees throughout the U.S. to scale environmental restoration for natural resource damage assessments. Fourth, HRC results in a blueprint for on-the-ground environmental restoration, whether as compensatory damages for public losses, mitigation for permitted actions, or enhancement of properties for environmental trading or public benefit. Therefore, the HRC method is comprehensive in its scope, inexpensive in its execution, and defensible and practical in its results.
Key words: restoration, habitat, economics, impacts