Marbek Resource Consultants/Dr. Steven Renzetti
Analysis of Economic Instruments
for Water Conservation
Project#: 337-2005
-- Final Report --
Submitted to:
Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment
Water Conservation and Economics Task Group
Submitted by:
Marbek Resource Consultants
David Sawyer
Genevieve Perron and
Mary Trudeau
In association with:
Dr. Steven Renzetti, Brock University
Marbek Resource Consultants/Dr. Steven Renzetti
Disclaimer
This report was prepared by Marbek Resource Consultants for the Canadian Council of Ministers
of the Environment (CCME).
This publication is a working paper only. It contains information which has been prepared for,
but not approved by, CCME. CCME is not responsible for the accuracy of the data contained in
the publication and does not warrant or necessarily share or affirm, in any way, any opinions
expressed therein.
PN 1348
Marbek Resource Consultants/Dr. Steven Renzetti
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Abstraction: The process of removing water from the environment for uses such as irrigation or
for treatment to produce drinking water. Water withdrawal is used interchangeably in this report.
Averting behaviour: The averting behaviour approach infers a monetary value for an
environmental externality by observing the expenditures individuals are prepared to make in
order to avoid any inconvenience.
Diminishing returns: If one factor is increased while the others remain constant, the overall
returns will relatively decrease after a certain point. Thus, for example, if prices are continually
increased for water use, at some point each additional price increase will reduce water use less
than the previous increase did, simply because there are fewer opportunities to achieve water use
reductions.
Distributional impact: Incidence of costs and benefits by socio-economic group, stakeholder, or
spatially.
Economic instrument (EI): Any economic tool or method