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The text provides an overview of recent advances in the theoretical analysis of NPS pollution and regulation from an economic perspective. Besides specific policy recommendations, a common theme in the essays is the attempt to suggest regulatory approaches starting from the recognition of the problems of incomplete information encountered when dealing with NPS problems. Such problems, which can be traced back to the difficulty of identifying sources and measuring individual discharges, imply that, rather than monitoring emissions at source, alternative solutions have to be found to set regulatory policy instruments. In this sense, besides problems classified in the technical literature as NPS pollution, many of the considerations are also applicable to phenomena labelled as point-source problems, whenever - despite the availability of technical means for measuring the volume and quality of emissions - widespread and continuous monitoring of individual discharges is economically unfeasible, and alternative ways of establishing cause and effect links between economic activities and observed environmental quality impairments are required.

Our groundwater is a vital resource which, despite its scarcity in many areas, such as the Mediterranean, is everywhere threatened by pollution and other hazards. Conservation and better management of this invisible resource should thus be a key ingredient of any sustainable water policy. The future is bound to see increasing competition between freshwater use and users, such as agriculture, an industry that not only extracts a great deal of groundwater but also threatens it with pollution. Agricultural policies have traditionally had other objectives, but environmental considerations are starting to play a greater role, but more effective initiatives will be needed to reduce pressure on groundwater resources and to better integrate agricultural and environmental policies. The present book, written by researchers drawn from different but complementary fields, presents a review of the interlinkages between agriculture and groundwater, and a critical review of alternative regulatory approaches and policy instruments for the better management of groundwater.

The book provides an overview of recent advances in the theoretical analysis of NPS pollution and regulation from an economic perspective. Besides specific policy recommendations, a common theme in the essays is the attempt to suggest regulatory approaches starting from the recognition of the problems of incomplete information encountered when dealing with NPS problems. Such problems, which can be traced back to the difficulty of identifying sources and measuring individual discharges, imply that, rather than monitoring emissions at source, alternative solutions have to be found to set regulatory policy instruments. In this sense, besides problems classified in the technical literature as NPS pollution, many of the considerations are also applicable to phenomena labelled as point-source problems, whenever -- despite the availability of technical means for measuring the volume and quality of emissions -- widespread and continuous monitoring of individual discharges is economically unfeasible, and alternative ways of establishing cause and effect links between economic activities and observed environmental quality impairments are required.

Groundwater is endangered and polluted in several ways. Conservation and better management of this invisible resource should be a key ingredient of sustainable water policies. This is especially true in areas, such as many Mediterranean regions, which are already exposed to scarcity problems and which are likely to experience increasing competition between freshwater uses and users. Agriculture is an important user of groundwater not only in terms of abstractions, but also in terms of generation and release of pollutants. Agricultural policies, traditionally directed towards other objectives, are beginning to pay more attention to environmental considerations. However more effective initiatives are required to reduce the pressure upon groundwater resources and to achieve a better integration between agricultural and environmental policies. This book has been developed from three workshops held as part of the EU Concerted Action SAGA, "Sustainable Agricultural Use of Aquifers in Southern Europe: Integration between Agricultural and Water Management Policies" (FAIR5-CT97-3673).The Concerted Action and the workshops brought together researchers working in different but complementary fields, in order to get a picture of the state-of-the art about interlinkages between agriculture and groundwater, as well a critical review of alternative regulatory approaches and policy instruments aimed at improving groundwater management.

In April 1992 the Foundation Eni Enrico Mattei organized a workshop on the regulation of nonpoint source pollution. This volume inc1udes the proceedings of that meeting, as well as additional original contributions, in an attempt to provide an overview of recent theoretical developments in the field. Research on the causes, consequences, and control of nonpoint source pol­ lution has been carried out over the last two decades. Interest in this subject has grown as a result of the increasing recognition of the insufficiency of traditional pollution control policies focused on the large scale, confined, and general­ ly predictable pollutant discharges. In fact, many contemporary problems are caused by the combined activities of small polluters, along with natural pro­ cesses, intermittent and unpredictable events, and often involve pollutants with complex environmental outcomes. Despite the progress made in understanding the nature and size of pollution from diffuse sources, the issue of regulation is still far from being system at­ ically and adequately addressed. This policy vacuum is partly attributable to the difficulty of adapting the traditional point source regulatory tool kit to the specific features of nonpoint source problems. Such features inc1ude the tech­ nical difficulty of identifying sources and measuring individual emissions, their variability over time and space, the role played by natural processes in detennin­ ing pollutant discharges at source and their ultimate impacts on the receiving environmental media.