A. Center/Institute/Program

Gund Institute for Ecological Economics/University of Vermont

590 Main Street

Burlington, VT 05404

Phone: 802-656-2974

Fax: 802-656-2995

E-mail: rcostanz@zoo.uvm.edu

Director/Chairperson: Dr. Robert Costanza

Representative to AERC: Dr. Robert Costanza

B. Major objectives of the Center/Institute/Program

1. To address the full range of interactions between ecological and economic systems.

2. To integrate the study and management of “nature’s household” (ecology) and “humankind’s household” (economy) in order to transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries to address interrelationships between ecological and economic systems in a broad and comprehensive way.

3. To coordinate global efforts underway at ecological economics research institutes to pursue research and teaching in ecological economics.

C. Major ecosystem research emphases

1. Sustainability: What do we mean by, and how do we quantify, health and sustainability in ecological and economic systems? How do we maintain a sustainable life-support system? What are the relationships between ecological, economic, and cultural sustainability?

2. Natural resource valuation: What are the most sensible ways of assigning value to natural resources and natural capital? What is the role and value of biodiversity?

3. System accounting: Conventional measures of economic performance do not factor resource depletion of environmental degradation into economic trends, thus presenting an incomplete and skewed picture of economic welfare. How can we create better accounting systems that integrate resource depletion and ecological impacts into national and international economic performance?

4. Ecological and economic modeling: Preserving and protecting threatened ecosystems requires an understanding of the direct and indirect effects of human activities on large geographical areas over time. How can we create an integrated, multiscale, pluralistic approach to quantitative ecological economic modeling while developing new ways to effectively deal with the inherent uncertainty involved in modeling complex systems?

5. Institutions for sustainable governance: What regulatory and/or incentive-based instruments are most appropriate for assuring sustainability? How can governmental and other institutions be modified to better account for and respond to the environmental impacts of economic development?

6. Education: How can we encourage transdisciplinary education at all levels in order to pursue the above questions?

D. Staff

Permanent scientific staff: PhD: 7

Scientific support staff: Post-doc: 1, MS: 2

Other support staff: Clerical: 1, Administrative: 1

Graduate students: PhD: 5

E. Approximate annual funding (recent year)

Core funding: $600,000/yr, Source: Endowment

Grants: $600,000/yr, Major sources: USEPA, NSF

F. Areas and facilities for ecosystem research studies

Institute for Ecological Economics, University of Maryland, Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), Chesapeake Biology Laboratory, Solomons, Maryland.

G. Research staff directly involved in ecosystem research (names and specialty areas)

Boumans, Roelof – ecological economics modeling

Ceroni, Marta – biodiversity

Costanza, Robert – ecosystem ecology, computer modeling

Cumberland, John – economics

Daly, Herman – economics

Farley, Joshua – economics

Jenkins, Jennifer – forest ecology

Voinov, Alexey – ecological economics modeling

Villa, Ferdinando – computer simulation modeling

Wilson, Matthew – valuation of non-market resources

H. Long-term data sets (code name, number of years of data, computer accessibility)

None.