William Ascher, vice president/dean of the faculty at Claremont McKenna College and Donald C. McKenna Professor of Government & Economics, has been appointed a member of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Committee on Valuing the Protection of Ecological Systems and Services. The project, initiated by the EPA's Science Advisory Board, will assess the agency's needs and its methodologies in determining the value of ecological systems worldwide. The committee will also identify areas for improvement in the agency's knowledge, research, and practices.
Ascher's appointment in August was based on his own research and writings in the field of natural resource and environmental policymaking. He is the author of five books that specifically address environmental and resource issues: Natural Resource Policymaking in Developing Countries (Duke University Press, 1990), Communities and Sustainable Forestry in Developing Countries (ICS Press, 1994), Why Governments Waste Natural Resources: Policy Failures in Developing Countries (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999), The Caspian Sea: A Quest for Environmental Security (Kluwer, 1999), and The Guide to Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy (Duke University Press, 2001). His research in effective environmental decision-making and management includes studies of both the United States and developing countries.
An interdisciplinary group of economists, ecologists, engineers, and other environmental specialists, the committee will provide advice for strengthening data and methodologies used by the EPA to determine the values of ecosystems--- not only in terms of the worth of their timber, but also their benefits to wildlife habitats, soil, surrounding areas, etc., in hopes of preventing the liquidation of important ecosystems.