Natural Resources Economics & Policy
FER Home : Natural Resources Economics & Policy
Over the past two decades, a growing awareness that the world needs to do a better job of managing our planet’s resources has given rise to a specialty area within natural resources that deals with policy on all levels of government and has led to a better understanding of the role that economics can play in building sustainable management strategies.
Science meets sociology in the realm of natural resources economics and policy. The Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources (FER) supports a thriving effort in this area that focuses on how the decisions we make individually and as a society affect our environment. We study best practices regarding decision-making and the use, management, regulation and protection of our natural resources. We also explore the importance of accurate economic analysis in weighing management options, implementing oversight programs, evaluating the effectiveness of strategies and motivating people to take action in the first place.
To this end, our natural resources economics and policy program serves as a central clearinghouse for the latest knowledge about a host of natural resource-based issues involving economics, government policy and the planning, implementation and administration of management programs. Our many classes, outreach initiatives and research efforts use these resources to explore the role that economic analysis and policy can play in decisions both large and small — as well as how these decisions affect the way we protect, restore and allocate our natural resources.
Working In Partnership
Our approach to natural resources economics and policy is extremely proactive. The teaching, research and outreach we do often involves faculty and students working together with public and private sector partners to address real-world problems. These efforts are broad-based in scope and can involve any of our planet’s natural resources, including water, air, land or plant and animal species. They also range in scope from local problems to international challenges.
We also often collaborate across disciplines within the University, or with state and federal agencies and private organizations, to address basic and applied questions about natural resources economics and policy. This approach keeps us in frequent contact with other Triangle universities, including Duke University and UNC — Chapel Hill.
Our other research and academic partners include economists from the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station and from RTI International — both located in Research Triangle Park — as well as the EPA, Federal Forest Service, the US Agency for International Development, other federal and state level conservation agencies, and a variety of local and global non-profit organizations such as Conservation International, the Nature Conservancy, the Triangle Land Conservancy and more.
For more information on how FER contributes to the area of natural resource economics and policy, please click on the links to the left.
