managed ecotourism is viewed as a net positive, which provides an alternative to damaging the local

environment.

Marginal Benefits and Marginal Costs

We can use the tools of marginal analysis to illustrate the marginal costs and the marginal benefits of reducing

pollution. Figure 12.4 illustrates a theoretical model of this situation. When the quantity of environmental

protection is low so that pollution is extensive—for example, at quantity Qa—there are usually numerous

relatively cheap and easy ways to reduce pollution, and the marginal benefits of doing so are quite high. At Qa,

it makes sense to allocate more resources to fight pollution. However, as the extent of environmental

protection increases, the cheap and easy ways of reducing pollution begin to decrease, and one must use more

costly methods. The marginal cost curve rises. Also, as environmental protection increases, one achieves the
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