Water protection policies group studies the use of socially optimal measures and policy instruments for water protection in different sectors. We examine both nonpoint source loads from agriculture and forestry, and loads from point sources, especially, from waste water treatment facilities in the Baltic Sea region. Our studies cover topics such as abatement of nutrient loads in waste water treatment plants, nutrient trading in the Baltic Sea basin, crop rotations with legumes and application of gypsum and surface drainage in agriculture and overland flow fields in forestry. Water protection policies group has close co-operation with Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Natural Resources Institute (Luke), Aarhus University (AU), University of Warsaw (WU), Stockholm Environment Institute Tallinn Centre (SEIT), the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, Finnish Environmental Institute (Syke) and John Nurminen Foundation.
Researchers:
Markku Ollikainen (Professor)
Venla Ala-Harja (Research assistant)
Sami Hautakangas (Doctoral student)
Anna-Kaisa Kosenius (PhD)
Sanna Lötjönen (Doctoral student)
Jenni Miettinen (Doctoral student)
Eliisa Punttila (Research coordinator)
Samuli Puroila (Research assistant)
Liisa Saikkonen (Doctoral student)
Projects:
Go4Baltic
http://www.bonusportal.org/projects/research_projects/go4baltic
NutriTrade
http://www.helsinki.fi/economics-management/research/yle/NutriTrade.html
SAVE
https://blogs.helsinki.fi/save-kipsihanke/
Selected publications:
Iho A., J. Lankoski, M. Ollikainen, M. Puustinen and J. Lehtimäki 2014. Agri-environmental auctions for phosphorus load reduction: Experiences from a Finnish pilot. Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 58: 205-222.
Hautakangas S. M. Ollikainen, K. Aarnos and P. Rantanen 2014. Nutrient Abatement Potential and Abatement Costs of Waste Water Treatment Plants in the Baltic Sea Region. AMBIO 43: 352-360.
Miettinen, J., Ollikainen, M., Finér, L., Koivusalo, H., Laurén, A., Valsta, L., 2012. Diffuse load abatement with biodiversity co-benefits: the optimal rotation age and buffer zone size. Forest Science 58(4), 342-352.
Lankoski J. and M. Ollikainen 2013. Counterfactual approach to assessing agri-environmental policy: The case of the Finnish water protection policy. Review of Agricultural and Environmental Economics, 94: 165-193.
Miettinen, J., Ollikainen, M., Nieminen, T. M., Ukonmaanaho, L., Laurén, A., Hynynen, J., Lehtonen, M. & Valsta, L. 2014. Whole-tree harvesting with stump removal versus stem-only harvesting in peatlands when water quality, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation matter. Forest Policy and Economics 47:25-35.
Lankoski J., E. Lichtenberg and M. Ollikainen 2010. Agri-environmental Program Compliance in a Heterogenous Landscape. Environmental and Resource Economics 47: 1-22.