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Valuing environmental externalities from rice-wheat farming in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River

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  • Lv, Yao
  • Gu, Shu-zhong
  • Guo, Dong-mei

Abstract

Environmental externalities generated by agriculture are attracting considerable attention. However, most research has focused either on environmental services that agriculture provides as a distinct ecosystem or the negative environmental impacts that agriculture imposes. Therefore, there is a great need to re-evaluate the all-round environmental roles of agriculture, to optimize environmental performance of agriculture and non-trade concerns in World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations. By valuing the environmental externalities of agriculture, this article aims to heighten awareness of the environmental roles of agriculture to stimulate its implication in agricultural policy-making. The study presents estimates of economic values of environmental externalities from rice-wheat farming system in Zhenjiang, in aspects of greenhouse gas emissions, non-point source pollution, carbon sequestration and water containing capacity. We provide a step-by-step analytic procedure, with each step including measurement of physical dimensions and monetary evaluation. The former is based on a large-scale literature review, which provided a vital foundation for the monetary valuation. The results reveal that the values of greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural land, agricultural non-point source pollution, carbon sequestration by crop and soil, and the flood control function provided by agricultural land are estimated as: - US$3.61 x 107 a- 1, - US$4.59 x 106 a- 1, + US$2.30 x 109 a- 1 and + US$2.21 x 107 a- 1, respectively. The net value of environmental externalities is as high as + US$2.28 x 109 a- 1, representing 17.87% of local GDP and 4.12 times the total agricultural output value in 2006. The results suggest that crops and soil in Zhenjiang are the most important carbon sinks, and that agriculture in Zhenjiang has huge positive environmental externalities, although both greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural land and agricultural non-point sources pollution have negative environmental impacts.

Suggested Citation

  • Lv, Yao & Gu, Shu-zhong & Guo, Dong-mei, 2010. "Valuing environmental externalities from rice-wheat farming in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(7), pages 1436-1442, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:69:y:2010:i:7:p:1436-1442
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pretty, J. N. & Brett, C. & Gee, D. & Hine, R. E. & Mason, C. F. & Morison, J. I. L. & Raven, H. & Rayment, M. D. & van der Bijl, G., 2000. "An assessment of the total external costs of UK agriculture," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 113-136, August.
    2. Bjorklund, Johanna & Limburg, Karin E. & Rydberg, Torbjorn, 1999. "Impact of production intensity on the ability of the agricultural landscape to generate ecosystem services: an example from Sweden," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 269-291, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Wei, Yongping & White, Robert & Hu, Kelin & Willett, Ian, 2010. "Valuing the environmental externalities of oasis farming in Left Banner, Alxa, China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 2151-2157, September.
    2. Jiang, Wei & Wu, Tong & Fu, Bojie, 2021. "The value of ecosystem services in China: A systematic review for twenty years," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    3. Qiang Li & Ruotong Si & Sen Guo & Muhammad Ahmed Waqas & Baogui Zhang, 2023. "Externalities of Pesticides and Their Internalization in the Wheat–Maize Cropping System—A Case Study in China’s Northern Plains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-15, August.
    4. Pingyang Liu & Juan M. Moreno & Peiying Song & Elona Hoover & Marie K. Harder, 2016. "The Use of Oral Histories to Identify Criteria for Future Scenarios of Sustainable Farming in the South Yangtze River, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-24, August.
    5. Li, Xiaowei & Yu, Xiubo & Jiang, Luguang & Li, Wenye & Liu, Yu & Hou, Xiyong, 2014. "How important are the wetlands in the middle-lower Yangtze River region: An ecosystem service valuation approach," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 10(C), pages 54-60.
    6. Rasheed, Shenaz & Venkatesh, P. & Singh, Dharam Raj & Renjini, V.R. & Jha, Girish Kumar & Sharma, Dinesh Kumar, 2021. "Ecosystem valuation and eco-compensation for conservation of traditional paddy ecosystems and varieties in Kerala, India," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    7. Bowe, Colm & der Horst, Dan van, 2015. "Positive externalities, knowledge exchange and corporate farm extension services; a case study on creating shared value in a water scarce area," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 15(C), pages 1-10.
    8. Cheryll C. Launio & Constancio A. Asis, Jr. & Rowena G. Manalili & Evelyn F. Javier, 2013. "Economic Analysis of Rice Straw Management Alternatives and Understanding Farmers' Choices," EEPSEA Research Report rr2013031, Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA), revised Mar 2013.
    9. Andrea Pronti & Flavio Bertinaria, 2017. "Un’analisi multidimensionale della sostenibilità per l’agricoltura familiare. Il caso dell’area amazzonica peruviana/A multidimensional assessment of sustainability for small farming production. The c," IRCrES Working Paper 201711, CNR-IRCrES Research Institute on Sustainable Economic Growth - Moncalieri (TO) ITALY - former Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth - Torino (TO) ITALY.

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