Economics of Biotic Resources Ecosystem Structure and Function

Current Events A Bet on the Environment Silver Lining in China’s Smog as It Puts Focus on Emissions Facing Fire Over Challenge to Louisiana’s Oil Industry

Deaths of Manatees, Dolphins and Pelicans Point to Estuary at Risk Why This Year's Gulf Dead Zone Is Twice As Big As Last Year's

Econ of Ecosystem Structure: Renewable stock-flows Material flow from a stock over time –Can use stock as fast as we want –Level of stock affects future flow –Pasture grass, timber stocks, game, fisheries (e.g. sturgeon) –Concepts apply to whole ecosystems: Atlantic Forest, Vermont’s forests, Lake Champlain

Sustainable Yield Curve

Carrying capacity, MSY and minimum viable population (point of critical depensation) Uncertainty and dependence on exogenous variables Variation in Critical depensation: Passenger pigeons and Mauritius Kestrel Sturgeon populations Critical depensation for ecosystems – Atlantic Forest

Sustainable harvests and effort What is the relationship to scale?

Harvest effort and cost Yield=catchability quotient x Stock x effort Y=qXE Stable equilibrium Unstable equilibrium Where did historical harvests take place? Where are they taking place now?

Maximizing sustainable annual profit (static):

Profit maximization π = TR-TC maximum π occurs when MR = MC

Open access fishery Non-excludable, rival π = 0 –This is what happens in any competitive market What happens when harvest costs are very low? What actually happens to harvest costs relative to price over time?

Profit maximization (dynamic) To move from one point on the sustainable harvest curve to one at a lower stock, we must reduce the stock. What happens to the profit made by selling that stock?

Opportunity Costs of Renewable resources The opportunity cost of not harvesting is equal to the foregone earnings from not investing the profits of that harvest. What’s more profitable, letting your redwoods grow at 1% per year, or cutting them down and investing the profits in the stock market at 7% per year?

Opportunity Cost of Renewable resources The opportunity cost of harvesting another unit of resource –Resource values should increase Increasing demand Decreasing supply –Renewable resources grow, but a unit harvested today cannot grow –More stock means cheaper harvest

Dynamic profit Max Marginal opportunity costs of harvesting the resource should equal marginal opportunity costs of not harvesting the resource, i.e. MR=MC Think about repaying a loan with the profits from reducing the stock What if the discount rate is very high?

Dynamic profit Max

When is Extinction Optimal? Open access Private ownership, but resource cheap to harvest, and grows more slowly than investments

Including the fund-service Passenger pigeons Sardines Cassowaries

Characteristics of ‘optimal’ harvest Must account for stock-flow and fund service Discounting probably not appropriate, and particularly inappropriate for fund-service component Higher stocks, lower harvests than static profit maximizing stock and harvest Must account for uncertainty

Summary

Natural dividend from renewable resources