Center for the Environment

Our plenary speaker at the 2013 NH Water and Watershed Conference is Linwood Pendleton, director of the Ocean and Coastal Policy Program at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and acting chief economist for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Linwood will present a talk on “Clean Water and the New Hampshire Economy.” The world is abuzz with new efforts to manage ecosystem services and improve the economic value of the world’s natural capital. New Hampshire’s rich endowment of natural capital has long been key to the state’s economy. Our ecosystem-dependent economy includes: coastal fisheries; tourism at the seacoast, lakes, and mountains; forest products in the North Country; and the recreational opportunities and quality of life that support home values across the state. Throughout New Hampshire, our natural capital depends importantly on abundant and clean water.

Linwood’s talk will focus on emerging opportunities at the national and international level that have direct relevance to the ways we manage natural capital, especially clean water, in New Hampshire. Challenges that the state may face in making tough decisions about protecting economically important ecosystems and natural capital will be discussed along with the potential impact on New Hampshire’s ecosystem-dependent economy that may arise from the pending U.S. Supreme Court case on storm water (NRDC v. Los Angeles Flood Control District). Examples of the economic value of clean water from Linwood’s amicus brief to the court will be provided.

Linwood Pendleton directs the Ocean and Coastal Policy Program at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. His work focuses on policies that affect human uses and enjoyment of ocean and coastal resources – both living and non-living. He is the Director of the Marine Ecosystem Services Partnership, author of many scholarly articles, and coordinates the Marine Secretariat of the international Ecosystem Services Partnership. Linwood’s current projects include work with the United Nations Environment Program’s Green Economy Project, UNEP GRID Arendal’s High Level Steering Committee on Deep Sea Mineral Resources in the Pacific, and Blue Carbon Economics (joint with Brian Murray, also from the Institute). He has served as Acting Chief Economist at NOAA since January 2011.

Linwood holds a doctoral degree in resource and environmental economics from Yale University; a Master’s degree in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School; a Master’s degree in ecology, evolution, and behavior from Princeton; and a Bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of William and Mary. He resides in New Hampshire.