Protected Areas, Agricultural Pests and Economic Damage: Conflicts with Elephants and Pests in Yunnan

Clement Tisdell and Zhu Xiang

No 153510, Biodiversity Conservation: Studies in its Economics and Management, Mainly in Yunnan China from University of Queensland, School of Economics

Abstract: Protected areas are often the source of agricultural pests and Xishuangbanna State Nature Reserve in Yunnan is no exception. The main pest associated with the Reserve is the Asian elephant Elephas maximus which causes damage outside the Reserve to agriculture as well as in the Reserve. However, these elephants are also an important attraction to tourists visiting Xishuangbanna. Xishuangbanna Prefecture contains the only remaining wild elephants in China. The present economic value of tourism within the Reserve is much less than the economic damage caused by elephants and other species protected by it. So whether the net economic value of protecting this species in Xishuangbanna is positive depends on other factors discussed or future tourism prospects. Methods of controlling pests from the Reserve are discussed, as is the scheme for compensating agriculturalists for damages caused by its pests. The problem of achieving an equitable solution to the pest problem is given considerable attention. The economics of reconciling the conflicting interests of those who either regard a species as a pest or as an asset is considered.

Keywords: Crop Production/Industries; Farm Management; Livestock Production/Industries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 25
Date: 1996-01
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uqsebd:153510

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.153510

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