An Evaluation of Protected Area Policies in the European Union

Tristan Earle Grupp, Prakash Mishra, Mathias Reynaert and Arthur A. van Benthem

No 10820, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: The European Union designates 26% of its landmass as a protected area, limiting economic development to favor biodiversity. This paper uses the staggered introduction of protected-area policies between 1985 and 2020 to study the selection of land for protection and the causal effect of protection on vegetation cover and nightlights. Our results reveal protection did not affect the outcomes in any meaningful way across four decades, all countries, protection cohorts, and a wide range of land and climate attributes. We conclude that European conservation efforts lack ambition because policymakers select land for protection not threatened by development.

Keywords: land protection; conservation; biodiversity; deforestation; vegetation cover; nightlights; staggered difference-in-differences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q23 Q24 Q57 R14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-eec, nep-env and nep-eur
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Related works:
Working Paper: An Evaluation of Protected Area Policies in the European Union (2024)
Working Paper: An Evaluation of Protected Area Policies in the European Union (2023)
Working Paper: An Evaluation of Protected Area Policies in the European Union (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10820

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