Parks versus PES: Evaluating direct and incentive-based land conservation in Mexico

Protected areas (PAs) and payments for ecosystem services (PES) are the top two mechanisms available for countries to achieve international REDD agreements, yet there are few empirical comparisons of their effects. We estimate the impacts of PAs and PES on forest conservation, poverty reduction, and population change at the locality level in Mexico in the 2000s. Both policies conserved forest, generating an approximately 20–25% reduction in expected forest cover loss. PES created statistically significant but small poverty alleviation while PAs had overall neutral impacts on livelihoods. Estimates by individual policy type for the same level of deforestation risk indicate that biosphere reserves and PES balanced conservation and livelihood goals better than strict protected areas or mixed-use areas. This suggests that both direct and incentive-based instruments can be effective, and that policies combining sustainable financing, flexible zoning, and recognition of local economic goals are more likely to achieve conservation without harming livelihoods.     

Ecosystem restoration in fire-managed savanna woodlands: Effects on biodiversity,local livelihoods and fire intensity

Ethiopia aims to restore 15 million ha degraded forests and woodlands, but effects on the potentially contrasting goals of long-term carbon storage, biodiversity and sustainable livelihoods are unknown. To quantify the effects of grazing exclusion on vegetation and fire behaviour, we established six 30 × 30 m fenced exclosures with grazed controls, in a mesic wooded savanna. Experimental burns were done after 1.5 years. Tree seedlings were few but more common inside fences. Field layer cover and biomass increased inside fences, and grass species increased in numbers and cover. Fire intensity was higher inside fences, killing shrubs and saplings but not mature trees. Interviews confirmed that overgrazing has resulted in “cool fires”, causing shrub encroachment. High-intensity fires occurred in the 1980s after a zoonotic disease killed most livestock. Short-term increase in carbon storage through fire and grazing exclusion may lead to loss of pasture, and in the long-term increased wildfire risk.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01343-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

中国矿山地质环境恢复治理激励机制探索研究

目前,中国矿山地质环境恢复治理形势依然严峻,国家高度重视矿山地质环境恢复与治理工作,财政部、国土资源部不断加大矿山地质环境治理资金,但目前资金缺口仍然很大。文章通过梳理中国矿山地质环境恢复治理激励机制建设创新做法,总结各省开展矿山地质环境恢复治理"五结合"激励模式实践探索,并针对我们矿山地质环境治理目前存在的主要困难和问题提出了引入市场机制出台土地使用权,及尽快出台国家层面的鼓励政策等多方面的优惠政策等建议。     

REDD+ benefit sharing under models tested by pilot projects in Tanzania: Inputs towards developing national benefit-sharing mechanism models

This paper presents results of the assessment on benefit sharing and payment mechanisms tested by six non-governmental organizations (NGOs)-piloted Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) initiatives in Tanzania. Results from the assessment indicate that models applied by most of the REDD+ pilot projects have provided most of decisions for the distribution of benefits to the communities through village general assemblies. Based on requirements of the tested models, national benefit-sharing mechanism models are proposed. Major attributes to be considered in the development of national benefit-sharing models should include: (i) ensuring that the existing government structure is not excluded to ensure sustainability; (ii) village general assembly is involved in determining the distribution of the benefits accrued; and (iii) transparency in handling the carbon finance is ensured. Models that are proposed for the national REDD+ benefit sharing apply to two forest management systems, namely Joint Forest Management (JFM) and Community Based Forest Management (CBFM). The paper recommends testing of the two proposed models to determine whether they could be useful in sharing benefits resulting from REDD+ in Tanzania.     

农户从事生态循环农业意愿与行为的决定:市场收益还是政策激励?

发展生态循环农业是我国新时期转变农业发展方式的战略选择,农户是生态循环农业的经营主体和利益相关者,厘清农户参与生态循环农业的根本动机,对于制定有效的生态循环农业推广措施具有重要意义。文章基于湖北省391份农户调查数据,首先,在文献回顾的基础上提出市场收益、政策激励对农户生态循环农业从事意愿与行为影响路径的基本假设,并利用OLS方法分析市场收益和政策激励对农户从事生态循环农业意愿与行为的影响;其次,运用优势分析法评估市场收益类变量和政策激励类变量影响农户意愿与行为过程中的相对重要性;最后,通过交互效应检验市场收益类变量和政策激励类变量间的交互作用。结果表明:收入预期对农户从事生态循环农业的意愿与行为均有直接的积极影响,是促进农户从事生态循环农业的最重要的因素;焚烧秸秆惩罚政策和废弃物资源化补贴政策对农户从事生态循环农业的意愿有积极影响,沼气池建设补贴政策和废弃物资源化补贴政策对农户生态循环农业行为有促进作用;收入预期与废弃物资源化补贴政策在影响农户生态循环农业行为的过程中存在互补效应。本研究认为,市场收益是刺激农户采纳生态循环农业生产模式的首要因素,因此,要着力完善生态农业市场体系,增强生态农产品的市场竞争力,提升农户对生态循环农业的盈利信心;另外,政策激励对于农户采纳生态循环农业具有促进作用,应该做到约束与激励并行,同时注意加强农业政策的科学设计与落实执行。     

Deforestation and the Limited Contribution of Forests to Rural Livelihoods in West Africa: Evidence from Burkina Faso and Ghana

Forest degradation in West Africa is generally thought to have negative consequences on rural livelihoods but there is little overview of its effects in the region because the importance of forests to rural livelihoods has never been adequately quantified. Based on data from 1014 rural households across Burkina Faso and Ghana this paper attempts to fill this knowledge gap. We demonstrate that agricultural lands and the non-forest environment including parklands are considerably more valuable to poor as well as more well-off rural households than forests. Furthermore, product types supplied by the non-forest environment are almost identical with those from forests. Accordingly, forest clearance/degradation is profitable for and, hence, probably performed by rural people at large. We attribute rural people's high reliance on non-forest versus forest resources to the two countries' restrictive and inequitable forest policies which must be reformed to promote effective forest conservation, e.g., to mitigate climate change.     

A case study of REDD+ challenges in the post‐2012 climate regime: The scenarios approach

The REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) partnership works to promote the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by protecting forests in developing countries through positive incentives. It is regarded as an essential component of the post‐2012 climate regime to stabilize GHG emissions and engage developing countries in worldwide mitigation endeavours. This study focuses on the gap between agricultural revenue and REDD+ compensation through the construction of several scenarios that explore the impacts of possible carbon price ranges.Three scenarios that reflect different potential policies are examined: (1) current carbon trading; (2) carbon trading with all forestry activities; and (3) carbon trading with all countries participating gradually over the coming decades. Data for developing the scenarios were obtained through a case study in central Kalimantan, Indonesia, by interrogating the potential for revenue by expanding agricultural land. The results indicate that REDD+ payments could not effectively compensate land users for their opportunity cost of deforestation, making it difficult for the governments to ensure that REDD+ money “reaches the ground” in terms of balancing the agricultural revenue of land users.     

Homegardens as a Multi-functional Land-Use Strategy in Sri Lanka with Focus on Carbon Sequestration

This paper explores the concept of homegardens and their potential functions as strategic elements in land-use planning, and adaptation and mitigation to climate change in Sri Lanka. The ancient and locally adapted agroforestry system of homegardens is presently estimated to occupy nearly 15 % of the land area in Sri Lanka and is described in the scientific literature to offer several ecosystem services to its users; such as climate regulation, protection against natural hazards, enhanced land productivity and biological diversity, increased crop diversity and food security for rural poor and hence reduced vulnerability to climate change. Our results, based on a limited sample size, indicate that the homegardens also store significant amount of carbon, with above ground biomass carbon stocks in dry zone homegardens (n = 8) ranging from 10 to 55 megagrams of carbon per hectare (Mg C ha⁻¹) with a mean value of 35 Mg C ha⁻¹, whereas carbon stocks in wet zone homegardens (n = 4) range from 48 to 145 Mg C ha⁻¹ with a mean value of 87 Mg C ha⁻¹. This implies that homegardens may contain a significant fraction of the total above ground biomass carbon stock in the terrestrial system in Sri Lanka, and from our estimates its share has increased from almost one-sixth in 1992 to nearly one-fifth in 2010. In the light of current discussions on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+), the concept of homegardens in Sri Lanka provides interesting aspects to the debate and future research in terms of forest definitions, setting reference levels, and general sustainability.     

NAFTA and member country strategies for maritime trade and marine invasive species

Maritime shipping has two vectors of spreading marine invasive species: ballast water inside the ship and biofouling on the hulls outside the ship. While some attention has focused on ballast water, virtually none is focused on biofouling. This paper offers a quantitative analysis of economic incentives for shippers and regulating ports to address both pollution vectors. The strategies to address the vectors are induced by incentive mechanisms involving liability, subsidies and taxes. Results show these offer ample incentives in order to truly foster abatement of both vectors. Data from North America's Pacific coast is included in the analysis.     

Impact of a Community‐Based Payment for Environmental Services Intervention on Forest Use in Menabe,Madagascar

Abstract: Despite the growing interest in conservation approaches that include payments for environmental services (PES), few evaluations of the influence of such interventions on behaviors of individuals have been conducted. We used self‐reported changes in six legal and illegal forest‐use behaviors to investigate the way in which a PES for biodiversity conservation intervention in Menabe, Madagascar, influenced behavior. Individuals (n =864) from eight intervention communities and five control communities answered questions on their forest‐use behaviors before and after the intervention began, as well as on their reasons for changing and their attitudes to various institutions. The payments had little impact on individuals’ reported decisions to change behaviors, but it had a strong impact on individuals’ attitudes. Payments appeared to legitimize monitoring of behaviors by the implementing nongovernmental organization (NGO), but did not act as a behavioral driver in their own right. Although there were no clear differences between changes in behaviors in the intervention and control communities, the intervention did influence motivations for change. Fear of local forest associations and the implementing NGO were strong motivators for changing behavior in communities with the PES intervention, whereas fear of the national government was the main reason given for change in control communities. Behavioral changes were most stable where fear of local organizations motivated the change. Our results highlight the interactions between different incentives people face when making behavioral decisions and the importance of considering the full range of incentives when designing community‐based PES interventions.