The Cost of EnvironmentalDegradation : Case Studies from the Middle East and North Africa

Croitoru, Lelia ; Sarraf, Maria

World Bank

关键词: AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION;    AIR POLLUTION;    AIR QUALITY;    AQUACULTURE;    AQUIFER;   

DOI  :  10.1596/978-0-8213-8318-6
RP-ID  :  56295

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Environmental degradation is costly, toindividuals, to societies, and to the environment. Thisbook, edited by Lelia Croitoru and Maria Sarraf, makes thesecosts clear by examining a number of studies carried outover the past few years by the World Bank's Middle Eastand North Africa region. Even more important than estimatingthe monetary cost of environmental degradation (COED),however, are the clear guidance and policy implicationsderived from these findings. This volume presents a newapproach to estimating the impacts of environmentaldegradation. In the past, when government officials askedresearchers the simple question how large are the impacts ofenvironmental degradation? The response was often anemphatic 'large!' a rather imprecise number. Thestrength of this work is that it actually quantifies ineconomic terms how large is 'large' and therebygains the attention of decision makers and offers specificinsights for improved policy making. Finally, this bookdemonstrates the benefits of doing a coordinated, regionalCOED analysis that builds on the country-level studies. Thistwo-tiered approach produces important synergies, in termsof both the methodologies used and the lessons learned.