TY - JOUR
T1 - A practical CBA-based screening procedure for identification of river basins where the costs of fulfilling the WFD requirements may be disproportionate – applied to the case of Denmark
AU - Jensen, Carsten Lynge
AU - Jacobsen, Brian H.
AU - Olsen, Søren Bøye
AU - Dubgaard, Alex
AU - Hasler, Berit
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - The European Union’s (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD) is implemented as an instrument to obtain good ecological status in waterbodies of Europe. The directive recognises the need to accommodate social and economic considerations to obtain cost-effective implementation of the directive. In particular, EU member states can apply for various exemptions from the objectives if costs are considered disproportionate, e.g. compared to potential benefits. This paper addresses the costs and benefits of achieving good ecological status and demonstrates a methodology designed to investigate disproportionate costs at the national level. Specifically, we propose to use a screening procedure based on a relatively conservative cost–benefit analysis (CBA) as a first step towards identifying areas where costs could be disproportionate. We provide an empirical example by applying the proposed screening procedure to a total of 23 river basin areas in Denmark where costs and benefits are estimated for each of the areas. The results suggest that costs could be disproportionate in several Danish river basins. The sensitivity analysis further helps to pinpoint two or three basins where we suggest that much more detailed and elaborate CBAs should be targeted in order to properly ascertain whether costs are indeed disproportionate.
AB - The European Union’s (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD) is implemented as an instrument to obtain good ecological status in waterbodies of Europe. The directive recognises the need to accommodate social and economic considerations to obtain cost-effective implementation of the directive. In particular, EU member states can apply for various exemptions from the objectives if costs are considered disproportionate, e.g. compared to potential benefits. This paper addresses the costs and benefits of achieving good ecological status and demonstrates a methodology designed to investigate disproportionate costs at the national level. Specifically, we propose to use a screening procedure based on a relatively conservative cost–benefit analysis (CBA) as a first step towards identifying areas where costs could be disproportionate. We provide an empirical example by applying the proposed screening procedure to a total of 23 river basin areas in Denmark where costs and benefits are estimated for each of the areas. The results suggest that costs could be disproportionate in several Danish river basins. The sensitivity analysis further helps to pinpoint two or three basins where we suggest that much more detailed and elaborate CBAs should be targeted in order to properly ascertain whether costs are indeed disproportionate.
U2 - 10.1080/21606544.2013.785676
DO - 10.1080/21606544.2013.785676
M3 - Journal article
SN - 2160-6544
VL - 2
SP - 164
EP - 200
JO - Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy
JF - Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy
IS - 2
ER -