Addresses the dilemma of choosing either to allow an activity that damages the environment and erodes people's standard of living, or to prohibit and so threaten other people's livelihood and so erode their standard of living. Taking climate policy as a case study, shows how choosing between the interests of two groups, one of which is often not born yet, is complicated by different assessments of environmental damage and impact of the quality of life. Concludes with a set of guidelines for dealing with such dilemmas. Distributed in the US by St. Martin's Press. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Pastoral systems have evolved to function with the natural environment and therefore with variability. By identifying variability as an entry point, this paper aims at (i) engaging FAO in the mainstreaming of pastoralism by establishing the understanding of pastoralism, and its systematic inclusion in the normal operations of FAO, and at (ii) presenting an evidence based narrative on pastoralism to a specialists’ audience. Two main points are made in this document: First, pastoral systems are emblematic of farming with nature. Second, pastoral systems make use of variability in inputs (the environment) by matching it with variability in their own operational processes (flexibility in movements, animal breeds, labour force, etc.) in such a way as to reduce the variability in outputs (animal production and health, household’s food security, etc). Since 2015, the Pastoralist Knowledge Hub (PKH) has helped creating an institutional space for connecting and coordinating work on pastoralism within FAO. An Inter-Departmental Working Group on Pastoralism has been formed. The conceptual framework of this paper and early versions have benefited from comments and guidance of FAO staff as well as of specialists of pastoralism worldwide.

Written by Gary Trugman, Understanding Business Valuation: A Practical Guide to Valuing Small-to Medium-Sized Businesses, simplifies a technical and complex area of practice with real-world experience and examples. Trugman's informal, easy-to-read style covers all the bases in the various valuation approaches, methods, and techniques. Readers at all experience levels will find valuable information that will improve and fine-tune their everyday activities. Topics include valuation standards, theory, approaches, methods, discount and capitalization rates, S corporation issues, and much more. Author’s Note boxes throughout the publication draw on the author’s veteran, practical experience to identify critical points in the content. This edition has been greatly expanded to include new topics as well as enhanced discussions of existing topics.

Choosing the optimal management option requires environmental risk managers and decision makers to evaluate diverse, and not always congruent, needs and interests of multiple stakeholders. Understanding the trade-offs of different options as well as their legal, economic, scientific, and technological implications is critical to performing accurate

This report sets out several of the recent advances, and suggests the most promising approaches, to the quantification and valuation of some of the wider economic benefits that flow from transport-related development. Economic appraisal can offer decision-makers important insights into the ...

El Nino has been with us for centuries, but now we can forcast it, and thus can prepare far in advance for the extreme climatic events it brings. The emerging ability to forecast climate may be of tremendous value to humanity if we learn how to use the information well. How does society cope with seasonal-to-interannual climatic variations? How have climate forecasts been usedâ€"and how useful have they been? What kinds of forecast information are needed? Who is likely to benefit from forecasting skill? What are the benefits of better forecasting? This book reviews what we know about these and other questions and identifies research directions toward more useful seasonal-to-interannual climate forecasts. In approaching their recommendations, the panel explores: Vulnerability of human activities to climate. State of the science of climate forecasting. How societies coevolved with their climates and cope with variations in climate. How climate information should be disseminated to achieve the best response. How we can use forecasting to better manage the human consequences of climate change.

Originally published in 2005, Weather Derivative Valuation covers all the meteorological, statistical, financial and mathematical issues that arise in the pricing and risk management of weather derivatives. There are chapters on meteorological data and data cleaning, the modelling and pricing of single weather derivatives, the modelling and valuation of portfolios, the use of weather and seasonal forecasts in the pricing of weather derivatives, arbitrage pricing for weather derivatives, risk management, and the modelling of temperature, wind and precipitation. Specific issues covered in detail include the analysis of uncertainty in weather derivative pricing, time-series modelling of daily temperatures, the creation and use of probabilistic meteorological forecasts and the derivation of the weather derivative version of the Black-Scholes equation of mathematical finance. Written by consultants who work within the weather derivative industry, this book is packed with practical information and theoretical insight into the world of weather derivative pricing.