Hugh Bigsby - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Hugh Bigsby
University of Adelaide Press eBooks, Mar 11, 2015
The study examines the relative importance to New Zealand consumers of environmental certificatio... more The study examines the relative importance to New Zealand consumers of environmental certification compared to other wood product attributes using conjoint analysis. A survey of preferences for product attributes for wooden outdoor furniture using different product bundles based on price and warranty for the furniture, and environmental certification, type of forest, and country of origin of the wood. Conjoint results indicate that environmental certification is just one of a number of important attributes. Other important attributes include the country of origin, with New Zealand sources being preferred, and forest type, with plantation grown preferred over wood from natural forests. Cluster analysis of the data indicates that six market segments with unique furniture attribute preferences exist in New Zealand, although the standard demographic variables, such as age, sex, and education, collected in the survey did not provide a basis for profiling these segments.
New Zealand Journal of Forestry, 2009
The Economics of Quarantine and the SPS Agreement, 2009
Australian Forestry, 1985
ABSTRACT
Forest products journal, 2002
Selection logging in the tropics is increasingly moving to systems that reduce the impact of harv... more Selection logging in the tropics is increasingly moving to systems that reduce the impact of harvesting operations on forests and soils. While much of the focus has been on modifying the tractor logging system using RIL principles, alternative harvesting systems have also been introduced. One of the alternative systems is the use of helicopters, which eliminates the need for skid trails and reduces the number of roads required. WTK pioneered helicopter logging in Malaysia when it started using the helicopter logging system in Sarawak in the early 1990's. Beginning in 2002, the company started using Sikorsky helicopters and since then has used three different models, including the Sikorsky 61F, 64E and 64F. While the use of helicopters creates a significant improvement in environmental impact of logging, the operating cost of helicopters is also significantly higher. Given the cost of using helicopters, a key element of harvest planning is understanding the factors that influence...
Forest carbon is potentially an important income stream for small land owners in Guatemala that w... more Forest carbon is potentially an important income stream for small land owners in Guatemala that would help to cease deforestation and forest degradation pressures. However, the temporary nature of sequestered forest carbon, the risk of environmental disturbances releasing forest sequestered carbon, and the form of international carbon markets affect the ability of small forest owners to participate in carbon trading schemes. This paper reports the results of an investigation into the stability of carbon pools formed by small forest owners in Guatemala, accounting for forest fire risk and the effects on implementation of a carbon banking approach
The effectiveness of biosecurity measures at national borders is influenced by the behaviour and ... more The effectiveness of biosecurity measures at national borders is influenced by the behaviour and levels of involvement of travellers. Involvement is the importance or relevance of an object or situation to an individual. Involvement helps regulate the way in which people receive and process information and thus influences the extent of information searching for decision making, and information processing and persuasion. In this study, we drew on the concept of involvement to investigate the response of individuals to New Zealand biosecurity requirements. A range of people associated with the agricultural and food processing sectors were surveyed using a five item scale of involvement to measure their level of involvement in biosecurity. The results indicated that most respondents had medium to high levels of involvement. This implies that respondents were motivated to attend to and process information on biosecurity measures. However, not all respondents reported taking note of bios...
The paper presents a model for quantifying quarantine-related phytosanitary measures by combining... more The paper presents a model for quantifying quarantine-related phytosanitary measures by combining the two basic components of pest risk assessment, probability of establishment and economic effects, into a single management framework, Iso-Risk. The model provides a systematic and objective basis for defining and measuring acceptable risk and for justifying quarantine actions relative to acceptable risk. This can then be used to measure consistency of phytosanitary measures. The Iso-Risk framework is applied using a database of USDA phytosanitary risk assessments. The results show that the USDA risk assessment system produces assessments that are not consistent across a range of intermediate values for consequence or likelihood of occurrence.
Community forestry in Nepal is intended to reduce poverty by sustainable management of forests. T... more Community forestry in Nepal is intended to reduce poverty by sustainable management of forests. Timber is one of the most high-value forest products, especially in the case of Sal (Shorea robusta) forests in the Terai region of Nepal. Despite having several advantages, including high value forests on fertile land, connection with transportation networks, and being close to regional markets, community forests in the Terai region produce little or no timber from their Sal forests. This research looks at what is affecting the production of Sal timber from community forests. Three aspects of community forest user groups (CFUG) are examined using institutional economics, transaction cost economics and micro-economics. First, the scale of CFUG operations is examined in terms of their ability to profitably carry out logging and organise market sales. Second, the capacity of CFUGs to carry out logging in terms of internal physical and human resources, and property rights is examined. Finall...
Due to the public goods characteristics of many ecosystem services and their vital importance to ... more Due to the public goods characteristics of many ecosystem services and their vital importance to human welfare, various mechanisms have been put in place to motivate private landowners in the provision of ecosystem services. A common approach is to try to develop a comprehensive ecosystem services market where landowners can receive payments from beneficiaries of ecosystem services. Much research has been directed at developing methods for valuing the range of ecosystem services so that they can be incorporated into ecosystem services markets. However, valuation methods are difficult, expensive and time consuming. Other approaches to the provision of ecosystem services such as payments for ecosystem services usually focus on a single service like water or biodiversity. However, in the provision of a particular ecosystem service, there are spill-over effects of providing other ecosystem services, and thus studying those spill-over effects may provide a simple and cost-effective way o...
Copyright by author(s). Readers may make copies of this document for non-commercial purposes only... more Copyright by author(s). Readers may make copies of this document for non-commercial purposes only, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies Small forests owners and environmental sustainability in
Support from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland through WWF Nepal Program and Lincoln Universit... more Support from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland through WWF Nepal Program and Lincoln University, New Zealand.
The characteristics of forestry in New Zealand have provided a particular basis for the developme... more The characteristics of forestry in New Zealand have provided a particular basis for the development of forest valuation that makes it unique internationally. In particular, forest valuation techniques place an emphasis onthe valuation of the forest crop separately from the land that it is growing on. This distinction arises from a number of factors, including the dominance of exotic, plantation-based forest crops grown on relatively short rotations, the Forestry Rights Registration Act of 1983, privatization of government-owned plantation forests in the early 1990s, and the growth of joint-venture-type arrangements between landowners and forestry investors. The use of exotic species grown in plantations and managed under clearfell regimes generally simplifies management decisions to financial rotation criteria, while the latter three factors have led to the importance of determining crop values separate from land. This in turn provides the basis for a range of valuation methods, inc...
University of Adelaide Press eBooks, Mar 11, 2015
The study examines the relative importance to New Zealand consumers of environmental certificatio... more The study examines the relative importance to New Zealand consumers of environmental certification compared to other wood product attributes using conjoint analysis. A survey of preferences for product attributes for wooden outdoor furniture using different product bundles based on price and warranty for the furniture, and environmental certification, type of forest, and country of origin of the wood. Conjoint results indicate that environmental certification is just one of a number of important attributes. Other important attributes include the country of origin, with New Zealand sources being preferred, and forest type, with plantation grown preferred over wood from natural forests. Cluster analysis of the data indicates that six market segments with unique furniture attribute preferences exist in New Zealand, although the standard demographic variables, such as age, sex, and education, collected in the survey did not provide a basis for profiling these segments.
New Zealand Journal of Forestry, 2009
The Economics of Quarantine and the SPS Agreement, 2009
Australian Forestry, 1985
ABSTRACT
Forest products journal, 2002
Selection logging in the tropics is increasingly moving to systems that reduce the impact of harv... more Selection logging in the tropics is increasingly moving to systems that reduce the impact of harvesting operations on forests and soils. While much of the focus has been on modifying the tractor logging system using RIL principles, alternative harvesting systems have also been introduced. One of the alternative systems is the use of helicopters, which eliminates the need for skid trails and reduces the number of roads required. WTK pioneered helicopter logging in Malaysia when it started using the helicopter logging system in Sarawak in the early 1990's. Beginning in 2002, the company started using Sikorsky helicopters and since then has used three different models, including the Sikorsky 61F, 64E and 64F. While the use of helicopters creates a significant improvement in environmental impact of logging, the operating cost of helicopters is also significantly higher. Given the cost of using helicopters, a key element of harvest planning is understanding the factors that influence...
Forest carbon is potentially an important income stream for small land owners in Guatemala that w... more Forest carbon is potentially an important income stream for small land owners in Guatemala that would help to cease deforestation and forest degradation pressures. However, the temporary nature of sequestered forest carbon, the risk of environmental disturbances releasing forest sequestered carbon, and the form of international carbon markets affect the ability of small forest owners to participate in carbon trading schemes. This paper reports the results of an investigation into the stability of carbon pools formed by small forest owners in Guatemala, accounting for forest fire risk and the effects on implementation of a carbon banking approach
The effectiveness of biosecurity measures at national borders is influenced by the behaviour and ... more The effectiveness of biosecurity measures at national borders is influenced by the behaviour and levels of involvement of travellers. Involvement is the importance or relevance of an object or situation to an individual. Involvement helps regulate the way in which people receive and process information and thus influences the extent of information searching for decision making, and information processing and persuasion. In this study, we drew on the concept of involvement to investigate the response of individuals to New Zealand biosecurity requirements. A range of people associated with the agricultural and food processing sectors were surveyed using a five item scale of involvement to measure their level of involvement in biosecurity. The results indicated that most respondents had medium to high levels of involvement. This implies that respondents were motivated to attend to and process information on biosecurity measures. However, not all respondents reported taking note of bios...
The paper presents a model for quantifying quarantine-related phytosanitary measures by combining... more The paper presents a model for quantifying quarantine-related phytosanitary measures by combining the two basic components of pest risk assessment, probability of establishment and economic effects, into a single management framework, Iso-Risk. The model provides a systematic and objective basis for defining and measuring acceptable risk and for justifying quarantine actions relative to acceptable risk. This can then be used to measure consistency of phytosanitary measures. The Iso-Risk framework is applied using a database of USDA phytosanitary risk assessments. The results show that the USDA risk assessment system produces assessments that are not consistent across a range of intermediate values for consequence or likelihood of occurrence.
Community forestry in Nepal is intended to reduce poverty by sustainable management of forests. T... more Community forestry in Nepal is intended to reduce poverty by sustainable management of forests. Timber is one of the most high-value forest products, especially in the case of Sal (Shorea robusta) forests in the Terai region of Nepal. Despite having several advantages, including high value forests on fertile land, connection with transportation networks, and being close to regional markets, community forests in the Terai region produce little or no timber from their Sal forests. This research looks at what is affecting the production of Sal timber from community forests. Three aspects of community forest user groups (CFUG) are examined using institutional economics, transaction cost economics and micro-economics. First, the scale of CFUG operations is examined in terms of their ability to profitably carry out logging and organise market sales. Second, the capacity of CFUGs to carry out logging in terms of internal physical and human resources, and property rights is examined. Finall...
Due to the public goods characteristics of many ecosystem services and their vital importance to ... more Due to the public goods characteristics of many ecosystem services and their vital importance to human welfare, various mechanisms have been put in place to motivate private landowners in the provision of ecosystem services. A common approach is to try to develop a comprehensive ecosystem services market where landowners can receive payments from beneficiaries of ecosystem services. Much research has been directed at developing methods for valuing the range of ecosystem services so that they can be incorporated into ecosystem services markets. However, valuation methods are difficult, expensive and time consuming. Other approaches to the provision of ecosystem services such as payments for ecosystem services usually focus on a single service like water or biodiversity. However, in the provision of a particular ecosystem service, there are spill-over effects of providing other ecosystem services, and thus studying those spill-over effects may provide a simple and cost-effective way o...
Copyright by author(s). Readers may make copies of this document for non-commercial purposes only... more Copyright by author(s). Readers may make copies of this document for non-commercial purposes only, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies Small forests owners and environmental sustainability in
Support from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland through WWF Nepal Program and Lincoln Universit... more Support from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finland through WWF Nepal Program and Lincoln University, New Zealand.
The characteristics of forestry in New Zealand have provided a particular basis for the developme... more The characteristics of forestry in New Zealand have provided a particular basis for the development of forest valuation that makes it unique internationally. In particular, forest valuation techniques place an emphasis onthe valuation of the forest crop separately from the land that it is growing on. This distinction arises from a number of factors, including the dominance of exotic, plantation-based forest crops grown on relatively short rotations, the Forestry Rights Registration Act of 1983, privatization of government-owned plantation forests in the early 1990s, and the growth of joint-venture-type arrangements between landowners and forestry investors. The use of exotic species grown in plantations and managed under clearfell regimes generally simplifies management decisions to financial rotation criteria, while the latter three factors have led to the importance of determining crop values separate from land. This in turn provides the basis for a range of valuation methods, inc...