Inequitable Gains and Losses from Conservation in a Global Biodiversity Hotspot

Philip J. Platts, Marije Schaafsma (), R. Kerry Turner, Neil D. Burgess, Brendan Fisher, Boniface P. Mbilinyi, Pantaleo K. T. Munishi, Taylor H. Ricketts, Ruth D. Swetnam, Antje Ahrends, Biniam B. Ashagre, Julian Bayliss, Roy E. Gereau, Jonathan M. H. Green, Rhys E. Green, Lena Jeha, Simon L. Lewis, Rob Marchant, Andrew R. Marshall, Sian Morse-Jones, Shadrack Mwakalila, Marco A. Njana, Deo D. Shirima, Simon Willcock and Andrew Balmford ()
Additional contact information
Philip J. Platts: University of York
Marije Schaafsma: VU University Amsterdam
R. Kerry Turner: University of East Anglia
Neil D. Burgess: UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)
Brendan Fisher: University of Vermont
Boniface P. Mbilinyi: Sokoine University of Agriculture
Pantaleo K. T. Munishi: Sokoine University of Agriculture
Taylor H. Ricketts: University of Vermont
Ruth D. Swetnam: Staffordshire University
Antje Ahrends: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Biniam B. Ashagre: Anglia Ruskin University
Julian Bayliss: Oxford Brookes University
Roy E. Gereau: Missouri Botanical Garden
Jonathan M. H. Green: Stockholm Environment Institute York, University of York
Rhys E. Green: University of Cambridge
Lena Jeha: Zoological Society London
Simon L. Lewis: University College London
Rob Marchant: University of York
Andrew R. Marshall: University of York
Sian Morse-Jones: Collingwood Environmental Planning Limited
Shadrack Mwakalila: University of Dar Es Salaam
Marco A. Njana: Tanzania Forest Services Agency
Deo D. Shirima: Sokoine University of Agriculture
Simon Willcock: Bangor University
Andrew Balmford: University of Cambridge

Environmental & Resource Economics, 2023, vol. 86, issue 3, No 3, 405 pages

Abstract: Abstract A billion rural people live near tropical forests. Urban populations need them for water, energy and timber. Global society benefits from climate regulation and knowledge embodied in tropical biodiversity. Ecosystem service valuations can incentivise conservation, but determining costs and benefits across multiple stakeholders and interacting services is complex and rarely attempted. We report on a 10-year study, unprecedented in detail and scope, to determine the monetary value implications of conserving forests and woodlands in Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains. Across plausible ranges of carbon price, agricultural yield and discount rate, conservation delivers net global benefits (+US$8.2B present value, 20-year central estimate). Crucially, however, net outcomes diverge widely across stakeholder groups. International stakeholders gain most from conservation (+US$10.1B), while local-rural communities bear substantial net costs (-US$1.9B), with greater inequities for more biologically important forests. Other Tanzanian stakeholders experience conflicting incentives: tourism, drinking water and climate regulation encourage conservation (+US$72M); logging, fuelwood and management costs encourage depletion (-US$148M). Substantial global investment in disaggregating and mitigating local costs (e.g., through boosting smallholder yields) is essential to equitably balance conservation and development objectives.

Keywords: Biodiversity hotspot; Distribution analysis; Opportunity costs; Conservation; Cost-benefit analysis; Tanzania (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1007/s10640-023-00798-y

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