Valuation of consumption and sale of forest goods from a Central American rain forest

Ricardo Godoy (), David Wilkie, Han Overman, Adoni Cubas, Glenda Cubas, Josefien Demmer, Kendra McSweeney and Nicholas Brokaw
Additional contact information
Ricardo Godoy: Brandeis University
David Wilkie: Associates in Forest Research and Development
Han Overman: Amsterdam Research Institute for Global Issues and Development Studies, University of Amsterdam
Adoni Cubas: Honduras Coral Reef Fund, Apartado Postal 1053, La Ceiba
Glenda Cubas: Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, Apartado 3394, Miraflores Blvd
Josefien Demmer: Amsterdam Research Institute for Global Issues and Development Studies, University of Amsterdam
Kendra McSweeney: McGill University
Nicholas Brokaw: Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences

Nature, 2000, vol. 406, issue 6791, 62-63

Abstract: Abstract Researchers recognize that society needs accurate and comprehensive estimates of the economic value of rain forests to assess conservation and management options1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Valuation of forests can help us to decide whether to implement policies that reconcile the value different groups attach to forests. Here we have measured the value of the rain forest to local populations by monitoring the foods, construction and craft materials, and medicines consumed or sold from the forest by 32 Indian households in two villages in Honduras over 2.5 years. We have directly measured the detailed, comprehensive consumption patterns of rain forest products by an indigenous population and the value of that consumption in local markets8,9. The combined value of consumption and sale of forest goods ranged from US$17.79 to US$23.72 per hectare per year, at the lower end of previous estimates (between US$49 and US$1,089 (mean US$347) per hectare per year)4. Although outsiders value the rain forest for its high-use and non-use values10, local people receive a small share of the total value. Unless rural people are paid for the non-local values of rain forests, they may be easily persuaded to deforest.

Date: 2000
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (33)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/35017647 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:406:y:2000:i:6791:d:10.1038_35017647

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/35017647

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().