Cocoa, livelihoods, and deforestation within the Tridom landscape in the Congo Basin: A spatial analysis

Jonas Ngouhouo-Poufoun, Sabine Chaupain-Guillot (), Youba Ndiaye, Denis Jean Sonwa, Kevin Yana Njabo and Philippe Delacote
Additional contact information
Jonas Ngouhouo-Poufoun: UCL - University College of London [London]
Sabine Chaupain-Guillot: BETA - Bureau d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée - AgroParisTech - UNISTRA - Université de Strasbourg - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar - UL - Université de Lorraine - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement
Youba Ndiaye: BETA - Bureau d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée - AgroParisTech - UNISTRA - Université de Strasbourg - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) - Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar - UL - Université de Lorraine - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement
Denis Jean Sonwa: Center for International Forestry Research, Jl. CIFOR-ICRAF, Yaoundé,
Kevin Yana Njabo: UC - University of California

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Abstract: In the context of emerging international trade regulations on deforestation-free commodities, the drivers of households' deforestation in conservation landscapes are of interest. The role of households' livelihood strategies including cocoa production, and the effects of human-elephant conflict are investigated. Using a unique dataset from a survey of 1035 households in the Tridom landscape in the Congo basin, the spatial autoregressive model shows that: (1) Households imitate the deforestation decisions of their neighbors; (2) A marginally higher income from cocoa production-based livelihood portfolios is associated with six to seven times higher deforestation compared to other livelihood strategies with a significant spillover effect on neighboring households' deforestation. The increase in income, mainly from cocoa production-based livelihoods in open-access systems can have a negative effect on forests. Households with a higher share of auto-consumption are associated with lower deforestation. If economic development brings better market access and lower auto-consumption shares, this is likely to positively influence deforestation. Without proper land use planning/zoning associated with incentives, promoting sustainable agriculture, such as complex cocoa agroforestry systems, may lead to forest degradation and deforestation.

Date: 2024-06-13
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Published in PLoS ONE, 2024, 19 (6), pp.e0302598. ⟨10.1371/journal.pone.0302598⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04769576

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302598

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