Ecological-Economic Modelling for Biodiversity Conservation

About this book

Ecologists and economists both use models to help develop strategies for biodiversity management. The practical use of disciplinary models, however, can be limited because ecological models tend not to address the socioeconomic dimension of biodiversity management, whereas economic models tend to neglect the ecological dimension. Given these shortcomings of disciplinary models, there is a necessity to combine ecological and economic knowledge into ecological-economic models. Gradually guiding the reader into the field of ecological-economic modelling by introducing mathematical models and their role in general, Ecological-Economic Modelling for Biodiversity Conservation provides an overview on ecological and economic modelling approaches relevant for research in the field of biodiversity conservation. It discusses the advantages of and challenges associated with ecological-economic modelling, together with an overview of useful ways of integration. Although being a book about mathematical modelling, ecological and economic concepts play an equally important role, making the book accessible for readers from very different disciplinary backgrounds.

Contents

Part I. Modelling:
1. What is a model?
2. Purposes of modelling
3. Typical model features

Part II. Ecological modelling:
4. Homogenous deterministic population models
5. Homogenous stochastic population models
6. Spatial population models
7. Models with individual variability
8. Models of biodiversity

Part III. Economic modelling:
9. Instruments for biodiversity conservation
10. Game theory
11. Incentive design
12. Modelling human decisions
13. The agglomeration bonus

Part IV. Ecological-economic modelling:
14. Foundations of ecological-economic modelling
15. Benefits and challenges of ecological-economic modelling
16. Integration of ecological and economic models
17. Examples of ecological-economic modelling
18. Outlook

Customer Reviews

Biography

Martin Drechsler is a Senior Scientist at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ , Germany. His research includes the mathematical modelling of populations in fragmented and dynamic landscapes, the mathematical ecological-economic analysis of instruments and strategies for biodiversity conservation, the model-based assessment of renewable energy deployment as well as mathematical optimization and decision theory. He originally trained as a physicist, which provided him with the necessary mathematical background to understand, develop and analyse mathematical models. 20 years ago, he started collaborating with economists to contribute to the development of the research field of ecological-economic modelling. In the field of ecological-economic modelling he is one of the most productive authors.