Conserving Tropical Forests: Can Sustainable Livelihoods Outperform Artisanal or Informal Mining?

Joshua Fisher, Poonam Arora and Sophia Rhee
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Joshua Fisher: Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity, Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
Poonam Arora: Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity, Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
Sophia Rhee: Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity, Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 8, 1-12

Abstract: The viability of conservation efforts, including protected areas and buffer zones, depends on finding ways to make those strategies more attractive and viable for local populations. This paper presents a pilot study utilizing a rapid rural appraisal of livelihoods in the buffer zone of Tambopata National Reserve in Madre de Dios, Peru, threatened by illegal gold mining and logging. We evaluated three predominant economic activities—artisanal gold mining, Brazil nut harvesting, and fish farming—in terms of potential economic returns. The main research question we ask is whether the latter two potentially sustainable land uses can match or exceed the returns from mining. Contrary to popular belief, we find that enhancing value creation at product origin could make existing forest-friendly livelihoods as or more lucrative than extractive ones. This has implications on local conservation policy encouraging implementable strategies incentivizing sustainable livelihoods in tandem with, and in support of, conservation goals.

Keywords: Brazil nuts; conservation strategies; deforestation; fish farming; half-earth; income analysis; informal gold mining; Madre de Dios; Payments for Ecosystem Services; sustainable livelihoods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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