Protected areas and economic welfare: an impact evaluation of national parks on local workers’ wages in Costa Rica

Submitted by Eugenia Leon on 19 June 2014

The number of protected areas around the world has significantly increased. However, the effects of this policy on the wellbeing of local households are still under debate. Using pre-treatment characteristics and household surveys with highly disaggregated geographic reference, we explore how national parks affect the wages of local workers in Costa Rica.

Conservation

Effects of Protected Areas on Forest Cover Change and Local Communities Evidence from the Peruvian Amazon

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 12 June 2014

Protected areas are a cornerstone of forest conservation in developing countries. Yet we know little about their effects on forest cover change or the socioeconomic status of local communities, and even less about the relationship between these effects. This paper assesses whether “win-win” scenarios are possible—that is, whether protected areas can both stem forest cover change and alleviate poverty. We examine protected areas in the Peruvian Amazon using high-resolution satellite images and household-level survey data for the early 2000s.

Conservation, Forestry

Do Entrance Fees Crowd Out Donations for Public Goods? Evidence from a Protected Area in Costa Rica

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 18 May 2014

In this paper, we investigate how different levels of entrance fees affect donations for a public good, a natural park.

To explore this issue, the researchers conducted a stated preference study focusing on visitors’ preferences for donating money to raise funds for a protected area in Costa Rica given different entrance fee levels. The results reveal that there is incomplete crowding-out of donations when establishing an entrance fee.

Conservation

The impact of buffer zone size and management on illegal extraction, park protection, and enforcement

Submitted by Salvatory Macha on 16 December 2013

Many protected areas or parks in developing countries have buffer zones at their boundaries to achieve the dual goals of protecting park resources and providing resource benefits to neighbouring people.

Forestry

Governance, Location and Avoided Deforestation from Protected Areas: Greater Restrictions Can Have Lower Impact, Due to Differences in Location

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on 1 March 2013

For Acre, in the Brazilian Amazon, we find that protection types with differences in governance, including different constraints on local economic development, also differ in their locations. Taking this into account, we estimate the deforestation impacts of these protection types that feature different levels of restrictions. To avoid bias, we compare these protected locations with unprotected locations that are similar in their characteristics relevant for deforestation.

Climate Change, Conservation, Forestry, Policy Design