Would community conservation initiatives benefit from external financial oversight? A framed field experiment in Namibia’s communal conservancies

Submitted by Tali Hoffman on
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.

Biodiversity, Conservation

The future representativeness of Madagascar's protected area network in the face of climate change

Submitted by Tali Hoffman on

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.

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation

Potential impacts of changing climate on nature-based tourism: A case study of South Africa’s national parks

Submitted by Tali Hoffman on

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.

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Conservation

Building assessment practice and lessons from the scientific assessment on livestock predation in South Africa

Submitted by Tali Hoffman on
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.

Biodiversity, Conservation

Gender differences in poaching attitudes: Insights from communities in Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe living near the great Limpopo

Submitted by Tali Hoffman on
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.

Biodiversity, Conservation

Reconsidering rural land use and livelihood transition under the pressure of urbanization in Vietnam: A case study of Hanoi

Submitted by Luat Do on
EfD Authors:

Over the last two decades, land acquisition for urbanization has caused a huge loss of farmland on the fringes of Hanoi, Vietnam. Previous studies have often criticized this policy for pushing farmers out of farming and disrupting peri-urban endogenous development. This study provides a case report of a peri-urban commune in western Hanoi to show how this claim is misleading. We found that livelihood transitions in this commune took place early on, and this helped most local laborers prepare to move on from farming when urbanization sped up and land acquisition policies were implemented.

Land, Policy Design

Crop farming adaptation to droughts in small-scale dryland agriculture in Chile

Submitted by Cristóbal Vásquez on

Small-scale agriculture is one of the fundamental economic sectors in Chile. An increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events due to climate change suggest a higher weather risk for the future, with potential consequences for crop choices. These effects are expected to be greater in dryland areas, where producers are more vulnerable to shocks and, therefore, less able to protect themselves against these risks.

Agriculture, Climate Change, Land, Water