Political economy of coal
Without phasing out global coal capacities in the power sector, international climate targets will likely be out of reach. Scenario analyses of optimal mitigation pathways consistently emphasize the
Willingness to accept compensation for afromontane forest ecosystems conservation
EfD Authors:
Highlights
• Farmers would rather receive compensation for soil and water conservation works than biodiversity.
• Significant costs can be shared by farmers for forest conservation.
• Investments in forestland create incentives for farmers to sustainably use forests.
• Accounting for heterogeneity allows better estimation of willingness to accept.
Forest-based livelihood choices and their determinants in Western Kenya
EfD Authors:
Forest extraction is an important livelihood activity for millions of low-income households in rural areas of developing countries. Understanding the choices households make to extract forest products can help formulate strategies for preventing livelihood strains associated with forest degradation. This article evaluates the nature, extent and determinants of forest extraction among rural households in western Kenya. Data were obtained from a survey of 924 randomly selected households in the Mt. Elgon area in western Kenya.
Determinants of forest dependent household’s participation in payment for ecosystem services: Evidence from Plantation Establishment Livelihood Improvement Scheme (PELIS) in Kenya
EfD Authors:
Payment for ecosystem service (PES) programs are increasingly being promoted as suitable mechanisms for addressing degradation of forest resources in developing countries. While interest in PES has grown over the last decade, empirical research on factors influencing household involvement in PES remains limited. This paper analyses factors influencing household participation in a forestry PES scheme in Kenya.
Accounting for land cover changes and degradation in the Katse and Mohale Dam catchments of the Lesotho highlands
EfD Authors:
Rangeland conditions in the Lesotho highland dam catchment areas is important for local livelihoods and regional water supply. We investigated changes in land cover and condition from 1991 (before construction) to 2013, using Landsat imagery. The Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) decreased in the catchment areas, while increasing within two protected areas. NDVI decreases were greatest close to the dams and in the high altitude summer grazing areas.
Would community conservation initiatives benefit from external financial oversight? A framed field experiment in Namibia’s communal conservancies
EfD Authors:
It is commonly asserted that the successful management of common property resources (CPR), and by extension, the provision of public goods such as biodiversity and carbon, requires the devolution of control to local communities. However, where trust in community institutions is low, the intrinsic motivation to co-operate may be diminished. In this study, we carried out surveys and framed field experiments on the introduction of payments for ecosystem services (PES) to Namibia’s communal conservancies, established under the community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) programme.
The future representativeness of Madagascar's protected area network in the face of climate change
EfD Authors:
With many species predicted to respond to a changing climate by shifting their distribution to climatically suitable areas, the effectiveness of static protected areas (PAs) is in question. The Madagascan PA network area has quadrupled over the past 15 years, and, although conservation planning techniques were employed to prioritise suitable areas for protection during this process, climate change impacts were not considered.
Potential impacts of changing climate on nature-based tourism: A case study of South Africa’s national parks
EfD Authors:
Climate change could potential have significant impacts on the global tourism industry through changes in accessibility, comfort levels, and geographic or seasonal changes to attractions. Global and regional studies based on climate indices suggest that there will be global shifts in tourism, with many of the currently warmer areas potentially experiencing decreases in tourism. These include much of the global south, where nature-based tourism is both an important contributor to economic output and believed to be vulnerable to climate change.
Building assessment practice and lessons from the scientific assessment on livestock predation in South Africa
EfD Authors:
After at least two millennia of human–wildlife conflict over the predation of livestock in South Africa1, the recently completed scientific assessment on livestock predation2 (PredSA) brings the power of a formal scientific assessment to focus on the topic. PredSA represents a global first in terms of applying this increasingly recognised approach to informing policy to the issue of livestock predation at a national level.
Gender differences in poaching attitudes: Insights from communities in Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe living near the great Limpopo
EfD Authors:
To what extent and how do men and women differ in their attitudes about poaching? Although research suggests that women can be more concerned about environmental degradation than men, inquiries about communities in protected areas are ambiguous: women are disproportionately affected by anti‐poaching laws and can have greater motivations to violate rules.