Do forest-management plans and FSC certification help avoid deforestation in the Congo Basin?

Isabelle Tritsch (), Gwenolé Le Velly, Benoit Mertens (), Patrick Meyfroidt, Christophe Sannier, Jean-Sylvestre Makak and Kenneth Houngbedji
Additional contact information
Isabelle Tritsch: UMR 228 Espace-Dev, Espace pour le développement - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - UPVD - Université de Perpignan Via Domitia - AU - Avignon Université - UR - Université de La Réunion - UM - Université de Montpellier - UG - Université de Guyane - UA - Université des Antilles
Benoit Mertens: UMR 228 Espace-Dev, Espace pour le développement - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - UPVD - Université de Perpignan Via Domitia - AU - Avignon Université - UR - Université de La Réunion - UM - Université de Montpellier - UG - Université de Guyane - UA - Université des Antilles
Patrick Meyfroidt: ELI - Earth and Life Institute [Louvain-La-Neuve] - UCL - Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain
Christophe Sannier: SIRS - Systèmes d'Information à Référence Spatiale - Systèmes d'Information à Référence Spatiale
Jean-Sylvestre Makak: GEOCOM - Geospatial Company

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Abstract: To allow for the production of timber while preserving conservation values, forestry regulations in the Congo Basin have made Forest Management Plans (FMP) mandatory in logging concessions. This paper uses original high-resolution maps of forest-cover changes and official records on the activities of logging concessions to analyze the impact of FMP on deforestation in this region. We apply quasi-experimental and difference-indifference approaches to evaluate the change in deforestation in concessions managed under an approved FMP. We find that between 2000 and 2010, deforestation was 74% lower in concessions with an FMP compared to others. Building on a theory of change, further analyses revealed that this decrease in deforestation takes time to occur and is highest around communities located in and nearby logging concessions, and in areas close to previous deforestation. These findings suggest that FMP help avoid deforestation by allowing logging companies to rotate cycles of timber extraction, thereby avoiding the overexploitation of areas that were previously logged, and by the better regulation of access to concessions by closing former logging roads to limit illegal activities such as shifting agriculture, hunting and the illegal harvest of timber or fuel-wood.

Keywords: Deforestation; FSC Certification; Forest Management Plan; Matching; Congo Basin (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr and nep-env
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02793204v1
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Published in Ecological Economics, 2020, 175, pp.106660. ⟨10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106660⟩

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Related works:
Journal Article: Do forest-management plans and FSC certification help avoid deforestation in the Congo Basin? (2020)
Working Paper: Do Forest-Management Plans and FSC Certification Help Avoid Deforestation in the Congo Basin? (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02793204

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106660

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