Benefits and costs of deforestation by smallholders: Implications for forest conservation and climate policy
Deforestation is a leading cause of biodiversity loss and an important source of global carbon emissions. This means that there are important synergies between climate policy and conservation policy. The highest rates of deforestation occur in tropical countries, where much of the land at the forest frontier is managed informally by smallholders and where governance systems tend to be weak. These features must be considered when designing policies to reduce emissions from deforestation such as REDD +. Deforestation is often accompanied by fires that release large amounts of carbon dioxide. These emissions are especially high in the case of peatlands which contain thick layers of carbon-rich matter. In this paper we derive marginal abatement cost (MAC) curves using data from a farmer survey in Sumatra, where rates of peatland deforestation are high. Comparing these results with farmers' stated willingness to accept payment not to clear forest to establish oil palm suggests that REDD + policies may be more expensive than MAC estimates suggest The extent to which this is true depends on the types of soils being deforested.
Optimization of Search Strategies in Managing Biological Invasions: A Simulation Approach
Invasive species are a major threat to global biodiversity and cause considerable economic losses. Often, the main constraint to controlling or eradicating invaders is finding them, rather than eliminating them after they are located. Finding them can be difficult and costly if the focus is on detecting individual organisms over a large area. Enlisting the help of the public through "passive surveillance" can enhance the search effort when resources are limited. The roles of active and passive surveillance and their interaction are investigated here using a spatially explicit simulation model of the spread of a hypothetical invasive species. In the model, the uncontrolled spread of the invasive across the landscape is driven by habitat suitability, a Cauchy dispersal kernel and random long-distance dispersal events. Detection may result from passive surveillance or through supplementary searching by a pest-control agency. Modeling the spread of invaders allows identification of effective management strategies. In this article two measures of success are incorporated in the fitness measure within a genetic algorithm that identifies optimal management strategies. Strategies are defined in terms of search effort applied, the distance that is searched around detections, and the number of repeat visits to previously treated sites.
Payments for environmental services to strengthen ecosystem connectivity in an agricultural landscape
This article investigates the use of payments for environmental services to support a wildlife corridor between two Priority Tiger Conservation Landscapes in central Sumatra, Indonesia. Several hundred smallholders operate within a Protection Forest linking the Tiger Conservation Landscapes. This study explores the willingness of these smallholders to accept a payment requiring them to forgo access to their land for five years. In addition to asking households directly what they would be willing to accept (WTA), we also ask them to infer what their neighbour would accept. The study finds evidence of hypothetical bias in the conventional WTA values, with a statistically significant difference between what people say they would be willing to accept when surveyed, compared to what they say would actually be willing to accept in a ‘real life’ situation. We show how inferred valuation techniques can mitigate against this.