Economics
We help clients identify and manage both liabilities and opportunities that emerge from activities relying on or affecting natural resources and the environment. Our economists work in multidisciplinary teams to develop pragmatic solutions to the complex problems that arise when natural and human systems interact. Whether the issue stems from historical operations or the need to make proactive decisions, our goal is to assist clients in meeting their objectives in an evolving world.
Valuation of natural capital and ecosystem services
Natural resources are valued for the services they provide. We value services in terms of their contribution to the objectives of the client, be that a company’s bottom line, effects on various stakeholders, or the public at large. By tailoring the analysis to the needs of the client, our valuations are targeted to cost-effectively improve management decisions.
Natural Capital Accounting | Ecosystem Service Valuations | Economic Modeling and Econometrics
Benefit–cost and economic impact analysis
A national policy, community-level regulation, or specific project will have varied consequences. Benefit–cost analysis identifies and quantifies the economic pros and cons of alternative actions, helping decision-makers choose a best course of action. Benefit–cost analysis does this in terms of the overall social effects of the action, whereas economic impact analysis quantifies changes in regional state or national economic indicators such as income, employment, and tax collections. We conduct technically sound analyses and provide effective communications to assist decision-makers and inform stakeholders.
Impacts Accounting | Efficiency Analysis | Distributional Effects | Uncertainty Analysis
natural resource damage assessment
Our economists work in integrated teams to address the technical and strategic complexities of NRDA. We routinely assess effects on recreation or tribal use of resources, use decision-analysis tools to evaluate alternative studies and control NRDA costs, and undertake resource and habitat equivalency analyses as well as other valuation-based analyses. From cooperative assessment to litigation and expert testimony, clear and effective communication is a hallmark of our team.
NRDA Strategy | Negotiations, Cooperation, and Testimony | Recreation and Cultural Use | REA and HEA
Related Resources
The first two papers, authored by Ted Tomasi, Ph.D., Managing Principal and Business Director for Integral’s Natural Resource and Environmental Economics practice, discuss including environmental justice in NRDA. Embedding consideration of environmental justice into governmental programs is a major policy initiative of the Biden administration, developed in response to a long-standing concern for how environmental impacts may disproportionally affect disadvantaged communities. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is examining various ways to address environmental justice in the management of contaminated sites, and near the end of the “life cycle” for such sites is natural resource damages (NRDs). White Paper 2021-1 looks at both policy and technical issues surrounding inclusion of environmental justice in NRDAs for impacts to human uses of resources such as recreation. White Paper 2021-2 builds on the first, and examines incorporating fairness into assessments of injury to ecological services of resources.
If anyone has questions or comments on any of these papers, please reach out directly to Ted Tomasi, Ph.D.
Abstract:
Considering Environmental Justice in Natural Resource Damage Assessment
Injury to Recreation Resources
1
Whitepaper:
Considering Environmental Justice in Natural Resource Damage Assessment
Injury to Recreation Resources
1
Abstract:
Considering Environmental Justice in Natural Resource Damage Assessment
Injury to Ecological Resources
2
Whitepaper:
Considering Environmental Justice in Natural Resource Damage Assessment
Injury to Ecological Resources
2
FEATURED STAFF MEMBER
Theodore D. Tomasi, Ph.D.
Managing Principal, Business Director, Natural Resources and Enviromental Economics
Dr. Ted Tomasi has more than 40 years of experience as a natural resource economist, specializing in the valuation of natural resources and environmental changes, risk management in the context of use decisions regarding resource use, and benefit–cost analysis. Before beginning his consulting career, he served on the faculties of the University of Minnesota, University [...]
related case studies
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