NIPR newsletter, April 1999

[Dshaman@worldbank.org]

1 - "Using Market-Based Instruments in the Developing World: The Case of 
Pollution Charges in Colombia" A PowerPoint Presentation 
http://www.worldbank.org/nipr/lacsem/columpres/ 
2 - Upcoming Environmental Conferences - A New NIPR Feature 
http://www.worldbank.org/nipr/conferences/ 
3 - "The Economics of Industrial Pollution Control" Research Paper 
http://www.worldbank.org/work_paper/wheeler92/ 
4 - Research Papers on Trade-Environment Linkages Using the IPPS 
http://www.worldbank.org/nipr/polmod.htm#Applying 
5 - New Listings for OnTheNet 
http://www.worldbank.org/nipr/onthenet.htm
Dear Friends:
For our update of the New Ideas in Pollution Regulation website ( 
http://www.worldbank.org/nipr) this month, we are please to present two
entirely

new features, as well as updates to ongoing NIPR features. We hope you will 
find these new additions useful.
1 - "Using Market-Based Instruments in the Developing World: The Case of 
Pollution Charges in Colombia" A PowerPoint Presentation
During the summer of 1998, a NIPR team went to Colombia to analyze a new
water 
pollution charge program started by the Ministry of Environment. Use of 
market-based instruments in developing country settings is almost
unprecedented, 
and offered our team with a unique opportunity to gain perspective on how
this 
new effort might work now. We interviewed the relevant stakeholders (Ministry 
officials, local environmental regulators, industry representatives,
municipal 
leaders, NGO's), and had access to government databases on pollution levels 
before and during the charge program. While NIPR's research analysis
continues 
(we expect to produce a working paper this summer), this PowerPoint
presentation 
provides an overview of the program with viewpoints from the major
stakeholders. 
The presentation will provide viewers with an insight into an innovative 
pollution management effort by environmental regulators in the developing
world.
http://www.worldbank.org/nipr/columpres/
2 - Upcoming Environmental Conferences - A New NIPR Feature
NIPR has created a new section featuring upcoming environmental
conferences. As

with the OnTheNet page of environmental web links this new section will
largely

be a result of the inputs from the NIPR community. Your notices are welcomed 
and encouraged. Please feel free to provide whatever supporting material you 
believe is necessary for participants to receive, and we will do our best to
see 
that is provided for within the Environmental Conferences sections. Of 
particular interest during the introduction of this section may be the
"Creating 
Incentives for Industrial Firms to Control Pollution in China" workshop 
scheduled for May 17 and 18 in Beijing. Co-sponsored by the Professional 
Association for China's Environment (PACE), China's State Environmental 
Protection Administration's Policy Research Center, and the Bank's
Development 
Research Group, this workshop will discuss and share expertise on
governmental 
monitoring and enforcement issues pertaining to China. Participants will
assess

the potential role of communities and consumer and capital markets in China's 
changing environmental landscape. The workshop addresses many of the ongoing 
themes of NIPR's research: the role of public information, disclosure, public 
participation, and informal regulatory controls on environmental
performance by

manufacturers. Those interested in speaking or presenting papers should
contact

Hua Wang at hwang1@worldbank.org.
http://www.worldbank.org/nipr/conferences/
3 - "The Economics of Industrial Pollution Control" Research Paper
We have dipped into the NIPR archives to present for the first time the 
full-length version of David Wheeler's "The Economics of Industrial Pollution 
Control: An International Perspective". Written in 1992, this paper laid the 
foundation for much of NIPR's subsequent research. The author argues that
while

there are advocates for either market-based instruments or quantitative 
controls, both policy options have appropriate roles in environmental
management 
depending on a number of variables. These include the social values, 
transaction costs, institutional capability, enterprise ownership, pollutant 
risk, regional characteristics, and uncertainty in any given locale or
country.

Wheeler surveys pollution control experiences in ten countries,
industrialized 
and developing, comparing regulatory regimes, institutions, instruments, 
implementation practices and results. Among the author's conclusions were 
market reputation and potential liability promoted significant cleanup in
those

OECD countries which mandated emissions reporting by firms, and 
command-and-control did not accurately reflect environmental management in
some

settings since much pollution control featured negotiations at the
plant-level,

and subsequent settlements were influenced by a wide range of variables.
http://www.worldbank.org/nipr/work_paper/wheeler92/
4 - Research Papers on Trade-Environment Linkages Using IPPS
Several new papers applying NIPR's Industrial Pollution Projection System
(IPPS) 
have been made available. The IPPS is a modeling tool that estimates
pollution 
parameters in country-specific settings which lacked reliable environmental 
information. OECD researchers have used IPPS in studies on trade and 
environmental linkages in Chile, and environmental quality changes for
eastern 
European countries during the transition period of the early 1990's. In the 
first paper, "Environmental Degradation and Public Health in Chile: Assessing 
the Linkages", John Beghin, Brad Bowland, Sebastien Dessus, David
Roland-Holst 
and Dominique van der Mensbrugghe examine the links between trade
integration, 
pollution and public health in Chile. The authors synthesize a host of 
economic, engineering and health data seeking two goals: to incorporate links 
from trade to environment to public health indicators, rather than simply 
measuring pollution incidence or other environmental variables; and to 
strengthen the basis of evidence for the rapidly evolving policy debate on 
trade-environment linkages. The trade integration scenarios examined include 
Chile's accession to NAFTA, MERCOSUR, and unilateral opening to world
markets. 
Among the author's findings include: small particulate have the strongest
impact 
on local mortality and morbidity; and while accession to NAFTA appears to be 
environmentally benign, integration via MERCOSUR and unilateral
liberalization 
has had a negative effect on the environment, and urban morbidity and
mortality. 
They conclude that taxing air pollutants, reducing trade distortions and 
maintaining revenue neutrality will induce net welfare gains from reduced
health 
damages and increased efficiency.
In the second paper, "Transition to Markets and the Environment: Effects of
the

Change in the Composition of Manufacturing Output", Beghin, Tomislav Vukina
and

Ebru Solakoglu measure changes in environmental quality during the early
years 
of economic transition for twelve former centrally planned economies. The 
empirical question addressed is whether the transition to a market-driven 
economy exacerbates environment degradation, or is it the case that 
environmental improvements complement economic transition. The authors
conclude

results indicate a strong relationship between environmental improvement and 
price liberalization, trade and foreign exchange reforms, enterprise 
restructuring, and privatization reforms.
http://www.worldbank.org/nipr/polmod.htm#Applying
5 - New Listings for OnTheNet
As a regular ongoing feature of the NIPR site, we have made a host of new 
additions to our links page, OnTheNet. Of note in this edition of updates are 
the following: the Mexico City Atmospheric Monitoring Network which
provides a 
variety of daily information on air quality conditions in the city, as well
as 
graphical data representations and visual displays of pollution levels; the 
Bangladesh Environmental Network which seeks to facilitate communications 
between policymakers and activists about growing degradation issues in the 
country; the Greening of Industry Network seeks to create partnerships and 
coordinate research effort with business, labor, academic groups on
sustainable

development policies; UNEP's State of the Environment Reports provide
essential

background information that is country-specific and available for many
eastern 
Europe and central Asian nations; and U.S. EPA's Environmental Indicators 
provides the latest data on air and water quality, solid and hazardous waste 
management, toxic releases, and pesticides, and is organized by state,
country 
and zip code.
http://www.worldbank.org/nipr/onthenet.htm
We continue to receive suggestions and comments from our readers, and as
always

they are appreciated. We hope you will continue to let us know interesting 
ideas, trends and other bits of information, and will provide us feedback on
new 
papers, datasets and informational kiosks which we present. If you wish to no 
longer receive our monthly mailings, please let us know by writing David
Shaman

at dshaman@worldbank.org. Best wishes.