Balancing Economic Growth and Environmental Stewardship: Quantifying Trade-Offs in Forest and Agricultural Land Management
Restricted (Penn State Only)
- Author:
- Sharma, Sadie
- Graduate Program:
- Forest Resources
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- February 13, 2024
- Committee Members:
- Elizabeth Boyer, Chair & Co-Dissertation Advisr
Dave Abler, Outside Field Member & Dissertation Advisor
Melissa Kreye, Major Field Member
Armen Kemanian, Outside Unit & Minor Member
Margot Kaye, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- Chesapeake Bay Watershed
environmental sustainability
economic growth
DEA modeling
agriculture
urbanization - Abstract:
- Understanding human-environment relations is crucial for addressing environmental challenges, making informed decisions about resource management, and achieving sustainability – especially in contexts where individual choices and decisions are important. Sustainability can be defined as the simultaneous pursuit of human well-being, environmental quality, and economic prosperity. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an international blueprint to address global challenges and achieve a more sustainable future for all. A sustainable future requires harmonizing human interactions with the environment through responsible resource utilization. This dissertation explores the question of whether it is possible to enhance human well-being, environmental conservation, and economic prosperity at the same time – by quantifying the balance between economic growth and environmental stewardship in the context of forest and agricultural land management. The papers of the dissertation explore human-environment interactions using a variety of computational approaches and are broadly aligned with SDGs – such as goal six (clean water), goal eight (sustainable economic growth), and goal thirteen (climate action). The first paper evaluates forested landscapes in the United States, considering their value as carbon sinks and the imperative of aligning economic decision-making with sustainable environmental practices. More specifically, it investigates the willingness of forest landowners in the United States to engage in carbon sequestration efforts. Forest owners have diverse objectives when it comes to managing their land. Some may view their forest properties primarily as lands for aesthetic beauty or recreation, as a source of wild foods, as a habitat for wildlife, as a valuable source of timber or pulp, or as an income strategy for selling carbon offsets. Such varying motivations highlight the multifaceted nature of forest management, where economic and environmental goals converge. The study addresses the growing interest among decision-makers and investors in extending forest carbon payment programs to family forest owners (FFOs), the predominant group of private forest proprietors. The study considers which contract requirements and payment levels will engage early adopters among FFOs who manage their forests with varying management goals. Robust regression modeling and benefit transfer techniques were used to generate estimates for carbon payment contracts for different categories of FFOs. Results show significant variation in forest owner willingness to accept payment as a function of management objectives, contract length, number of forest acres, management plan requirement, and management restrictions. Average annual per acre payment values were lowest for conservation-oriented forest owners, followed by passive and production-oriented forest owners. Overall, findings suggest the need for diverse types of contracts and payment levels to be widely used by forest owners in carbon offset programs. Forests are a vital component of global efforts to combat climate change, and their sustainable management aligns with the objectives of environmental conservation and climate mitigation outlined in SDG13 on climate action. The second paper evaluates agricultural landscapes in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, considering the critical balance between agricultural productivity and environmental health. This region plays a central role in both economic development and food production but faces significant environmental challenges. A deeper understanding of the efficiency and agricultural sustainability of different upland counties draining to the Bay is necessary. This study employs the Data Envelopment Analysis, an econometric method, to investigate the dynamics of sustainable agricultural production within 165 Chesapeake Bay counties (as decision-making units) using data from 1987 to 2017. Focusing on economic and environmental indicators, counties were identified and ranked based on their performance by evaluating relative efficiency estimates. Findings highlight a positive trend in the number of efficient counties and their average efficiency estimates from 2007 to 2017, indicating that sustainable agriculture practices in urbanized landscapes are achievable. The results suggest a dynamic shift in performance across counties during this period. In both 2007 and 2017, counties in the northern tier of the Bay watershed, Shenandoah Valley, and the Delmarva Peninsula had high performance scores. The main difference between 2007 and 2017 is in southeastern Pennsylvania, where performance scores improved significantly. The region with the lowest performance scores was along the densely populated western shore of Chesapeake Bay. The analysis also reveals model heterogeneity, with a larger number of counties performing well under the Variable Returns to Scale model. Additionally, across the entire Bay watershed, performance scores tend to be lower in densely populated counties. Farming in urban counties presents greater economic and environmental challenges than in rural counties. Notably, findings underscore the potential of sustainable agriculture to preserve or improve water quality, highlighting its role in achieving SDG 6 of ensuring clean water and sanitation. Finally, the third paper examines the broader determinants of county performance in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (CBW), a critical step in aligning findings with holistic environmental and economic sustainability. This study employs Bootstrapped Truncated Regression, as revised by Simar and Wilson, to examine the factors affecting performance in decision-making units (i.e., the 165 counties of the CBW). This approach explores the continuum of county-level performance over space (of the watershed) in the years 2007 and 2017, from counties excelling in both agricultural production and environmental conservation to those facing economic or environmental challenges. The primary objective was to understand the key drivers behind the counties' strong and weak performance. Results showed that sustainability measures have the potential to lead to increased county-level efficiency. However, challenges arise from other factors, such as population density, and demography. Some agricultural best management practices, like organic agriculture and cover cropping, demonstrate inconsistent outcomes. Results inform potential strategies for land management, education, and policies to improve coupled environmental and economic conditions. The study forms a valuable blueprint for sustainable development in the CBW region and beyond, particularly in the context of SDG 8, which emphasizes the importance of fostering economic prosperity while safeguarding the environment. The findings of this dissertation serve as a resource for policymakers, farmers, and stakeholders working to achieve economically thriving and environmentally beneficial forest and agricultural land systems. Insights enable an understanding of tradeoffs between balancing economic and environmental goals and are helpful in guiding sustainable land management strategies toward achieving SDGs. Continued research on the socio-economic impacts is imperative, where results underscore that the collaborative involvement of multiple stakeholders is required to achieve desired goals.