Suriname: Reconciling agricultural development and conservation of unique natural wealth

National and transboundary adverse effects of competition for land are being increasingly recognized by researchers and decision-makers, however the consideration of these impacts within national planning strategies is not yet commonplace. To estimate how increasing agricultural production can be conciliated with protection of natural resources at the national scale, we analyzed current land use in Suriname, and investigated opportunities for, and constraints to developing a sustainable agricultural sector. Suriname is a remarkable case study. To date, Suriname has retained most of its natural resources with forest areas covering over 90% of the country. Surinamese forests combine extremely high levels of both biodiversity and carbon, making them top priority from a global ecosystem services perspective. Among other national and international pressures from increased demand for agricultural products, the country is also considering significant expansion of agricultural output to both diminish imports and become a ‘bread basket’ for the Caribbean region, which collectively may pose risks to natural resources. In this study, combining locally-obtained primary data, expert consultation and secondary data from the Food and Agriculture Organization we analyzed a range of scenarios, we show the complexities associated with current land management and we discuss alternatives for developing a sustainable agricultural sector in Suriname. We show that Suriname can increase the production of rice, which is the most important agricultural activity in the country, without expanding rice area. Rather, future increase in rice production could be promoted through an increase in rice productivity, and the employment of more environmentally-favorable management methods, in order to both diminish pollution and avoid encroachment of the agriculture into pristine areas. Further, we show a potential to both contribute to greening of the agricultural sector and to higher economic returns through expanding the production of ‘safe food’ and through possible development of organic agriculture in Suriname. If Suriname develops a ‘greener’ agricultural sector, it may both increase economic returns from the agricultural sector and benefit from continuing protection of natural resources. Because most of Suriname forests present top levels of carbon and biodiversity, the country could benefit from so-called ‘early-action’ Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) finance, which is already being paid mostly through bilateral agreements. Further, by adopting land-use planning that protects natural resources, Suriname may be in extraordinary position to benefit from both improved-quality agricultural production and from incentives to conserve forest carbon and biodiversity, such as payments for ecosystem services. Given the high stakes and the severe lack of both primary data and applied analyses in Suriname, further research focused on better informing land-use policies would be a valuable investment for the country. Although this analysis was performed for Suriname, conclusions drawn here are transferrable and may assist formulation of policy recommendations for land use elsewhere

An international comparative assessment of construction cost overruns for electricity infrastructure

Earlier this year, we assessed the construction costs affiliated with 401 electricity infrastructure projects worldwide. We found that these projects collectively involved $820 billion worth of investment, and represented more than 325,000 MW of installed capacity and 8500 km of transmission lines. Taken together, these projects incurred$388 billion in cost overruns, equivalent to a mean cost escalation of $968 million per project, or a 66.3 percent overrun per project. In this article, we extend upon that earlier analysis to explain how hydroelectric dams, nuclear reactors, wind farms, solar facilities, fossil fueled thermal plants, and transmission lines pose distinct construction risks. We highlight that electricity infrastructure is prone to cost overrun issues almost independently of technology or location, that hydroelectric dams and nuclear reactors have the greatest amount and frequency of cost overruns, even when normalized to overrun per installed MW, and that solar and wind projects seem to present the least construction risk. Consequently, investors, electric utilities, public officials, and energy analysts need to rethink and reevaluate the methodologies they use to predict construction timetables and calculate budgets

Allocation of responsibility: managerial perspectives on pollution in three Chinese municipalities

It is widely acknowledged that China's economic miracle has been achieved at the expense of its natural environment. Although considerable emphasis is now being given to the environment in the central government's current policy initiatives, reversing the degradation of natural capital will require the full range of policy mechanisms. Although businesses must be made to comply with regulations, collaboration from management will be required to implement various nonregulatory policy mechanisms. Consequently, it is important to understand managers' assessment of the current situation, particularly in light of China's 'command-and-control' tradition and whom they hold responsible. From a sample of 653 managers in three large urban centers, it was found that Chinese managers hold multiple institutions responsible. The central and local governments are held primarily responsible-both for not having passed stricter regulations and for not having enforced those already on the books. Economic organizations are held secondarily responsible. Significant differences among sectors and regions, however, were also observed