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Environmental Regulation

Environmental RegulationMotu’s environmental research focuses on the use and design of market-based instruments to address environmental goals.

Our current work addresses issues for New Zealand’s emissions trading system and a proposed nutrient trading system to address water quality in Lake Rotorua. Both these projects make use of our Land-Use in Rural New Zealand (LURNZ) models and data. Past research considered market-based instruments for New Zealand fisheries.

Motu has convened a decentralised but coordinated Market-Based Instruments Research Network to facilitate and integrate our own and others’ environmental regulation research.

Climate Change

Climate ChangeMotu is currently involved in several projects exploring the impact of climate change on the environment and economy. Some of these projects focus on climate change issues in New Zealand, and some consider the effects of climate change overseas.

Nutrient Trading and Water Quality

Nutrient Trading and Water QualityThis programme explores how we can apply market-based instruments to the problem of non-point source water pollution from agriculture.

Land Use in Rural New Zealand Model

Land Use in Rural New Zealand ModelOur land-use change simulation model, Land Use in Rural New Zealand (LURNZ), is a computer model that predicts land-use change at a fine spatial scale over the whole country. The model produces dynamic paths of rural land-use change and maps of rural land use across New Zealand with an annual time step.

Fisheries Management

Fisheries ManagementMotu and Resources for the Future (Washington DC) have jointly conducted economic research on fisheries management in New Zealand.

Market-Based Instrument Research Network

Market-Based Instrument Research NetworkMotu’s environmental research is primarily focused on the use and design of market based instruments. As part of this work, Motu has convened a decentralised but coordinated network to facilitate and integrate high quality research directly pertinent to the design, implementation and evaluation of market-based instruments.

Motu’s environmental trading game

Motu’s environmental trading game is freely available for download. Participants act as farmers in a nutrient (or emissions) trading system, though the game can be adapted for any other environmental problem. It is suitable for use with any group interested in better understanding these issues, both in an educational or professional setting (and comes with non-technical instructions).

Find out more and download the game here.

 

 

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