The water purification functions of forests represent one of the most frequently invoked examples of non-market ecosystem services that are economically valuable. Yet, there has been a paucity of statistical estimates that robustly quantify such benefits. This study enriches this thin evidence base through valuing forests’ water purification services in the form of the ensuing cost savings of municipal drinking water treatment, using a rich panel dataset from China’s Sichuan province.

A significant body of literature interested in studying the impact of weatherrisks on agricultural performance has modeled crop yields as a function of either levels or deviations in seasonal rainfall. However, an aspect that has received little attention in the literature relates to the impact of timing of the arrival of the monsoon on agricultural performance. In this paper, using a pan-India district-level panel dataset for a period of 50 years, we investigate three interrelated issues that are critical for managing the weather-induced agricultural risks.

Since 2003, China has implemented a large-scale forest devolution reform by giving villages the right to devolve tenure rights of collectively owned forests to households. Some villages chose no reform, and the forest continued to be owned and controlled by the village committee. In other villages, the reform was adopted and forests became owned and managed by individual households. In a third group, the reform was adopted and forests became household owned but are managed jointly.

Climate change mitigation in developing countries is increasingly expected to generate co-benefits that help meet sustainable development goals. This has been an expectation and a hotly contested issue in REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) since its inception.

We evaluate the impact of collaborative management agreements (CMAs) designed to protect forests and raise incomes for smallholders living adjacent to Rwenzori Mountains National Park (RMNP), Uganda. We use a quasi-experimental study design to estimate changes in several income measures, as well as land cover using three waves (2003, 2007, and 2012) of household survey and remote sensing data. Overall, we find no significant impact of CMAs on any of our income measures.

Forests in lower-income countries provide a global public good, carbon sequestration. REDD, "reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation" is a performance-based payment designed to align private incentives at the country level with the socially optimal level of forest loss. This review article focuses on the distributional implications of REDD, specifically on whom the burdens and benefits fall. First, REDD implementation has proven more difficult and costly than originally anticipated.