里奇·罗宾逊在水资源经济学领域有30多年的经验，参与过全球200多个水资源项目.
Since joining Tetra Tech in 1998, Ridge has served as senior economist on many projects evaluating the merits of public infrastructure investments, including flood risk management, coastal storm risk management, navigation, ecosystem restoration, hydropower, and water supply. 他的项目活动包括对水资源项目进行风险评估、经济成本效益和成本效益分析.
他持有Radford University的经济学学士学位和工商管理文学学士学位.
What led you to a career as an economist?
I grew up in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with a great love for the outdoors. I went to college to study business and economics, hoping to lay the foundation for a business career that would interface with the natural world and recreation. During school, one of my economics professors recommended me for an internship at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Institute for Water Resources. 实习变成了一份水资源经济学家的工作，我在那里开发了USACE现在需要的方法，用于对所有生态系统恢复项目进行经济评估. 我在水资源经济学领域工作了30多年，运用经济学原理和方法研究自然和社会系统，以及它们如何受到全球最大体育平台类干预和公共政策的影响.
How do you apply economic principles and methods to address your clients’ needs?
我的团队的大部分经济咨询工作都与评估公共水资源基础设施投资的成本和收益有关. 我们运用经济工具和方法来提供信息，以支持明智的决策，以便客户能够了解项目是否物有所值. The bulk of the economist’s work is focused on the benefit side of the equation. In economic terminology, we develop and apply models to estimate the public’s willingness to pay for the benefits of a proposed project. 当全球最大体育平台们为项目收益支付的意愿超过实施和运营项目的生命周期成本时, you have economic justification. We also apply these tools to compare project alternatives and identify which options are better investments. 我们的经济团队从事的最常见的研究类型包括评估洪水和沿海风暴风险，以及比较风险管理替代方案的好处, assessing the benefits of restoring environmental functions and values, and evaluating the consequences of failure of aging infrastructure.
How have you incorporated water resources economics into climate change evaluations?
Working in Alaska for the past 20 years has enabled me to explore the social, economic, and environmental benefits of infrastructure improvements in underserved, remote Alaskan communities. 这些社区中有许多一直处于气候变化影响的最前沿，威胁着它们的持续生存能力.
气温升高的趋势和海冰保护期的缩短导致永久冻土融化速度加快, shoreline erosion, 并增加了该州北极和亚北极地区许多沿海阿拉斯加土著村庄的洪水灾害. 我们已经评估了成本以及替代方案的社会和全球最大体育平台类学影响，范围从保护当地社区, relocating entire communities, and colocating communities with other existing communities in less erosion-prone areas. Studying the social and cultural benefits of community and place was fascinating. One of the communities, Newtok, is currently executing a staged move inland to a new village at Mertarvik. 我们还对阿拉斯加土著村庄的生存方式和活动的社会价值进行了有趣的研究.
在Utqiaġvik(在2016年之前被称为Barrow)——美国最北端的城市，tetra Tech与USACE的阿拉斯加地区签订了合同，对沿海风暴风险进行经济建模. 应用USACE的传统经济风暴风险评估模型并没有为社区的风暴风险管理项目找到经济上的理由. However, a project was critical to the continued viability of Utqiaġvik. 我们与USACE合作，根据社区恢复力的概念开发了一个新的经济评估框架. 该模型得到了USACE的批准，并导致联邦政府在2020年批准了推荐的海岸保护项目. This was a professionally rewarding project for our team, and for me personally, 因为我们开发的新的社区恢复力框架是对我职业生涯开始时在水资源研究所为USACE开发的生态系统恢复经济评估框架的改编.
What changes have you seen in water resources economic policy over your career?
Historically, 联邦水资源和相关土地资源政策的重点是优化和选择项目替代方案，使国家的净经济效益最大化，同时最大限度地减少对环境的不利影响. Other environmental, societal, 在可行性研究中已经讨论了拟议项目的区域就业和收入效益，但不一定在确定项目是否合理方面发挥作用. 国会在2007年通过了《全球最大体育平台》，奥巴马政府的环境质量委员会在2014年发布了新的指导方针，改变了这一政策.
负责水资源任务的联邦机构现在在决定一个项目是否合理时，更全面地考虑项目的所有类别的利益. 最近通过的《亚洲最大体育平台》指示USACE完成这些新政策的内部机构实施指导，并建立了一个新的试点项目，重新审查USACE项目在农村和经济弱势社区的合理性程序. 所有这些政策变化为在服务不足的社区实施水资源开发项目创造了更多机会.