An Evaluation of Protected Area Policies in the European Union

Tristan Earle Grupp, Prakash Mishra, Mathias Reynaert and Arthur Van Benthem

No 23-1490, TSE Working Papers from Toulouse School of Economics (TSE)

Abstract: The European Union designates 26% of its landmass as a protected area, limiting economic development to favor biodiversity. We use the staggered introduction of protected areas between 1985 and 2020 to study the selection of land for protection and the causal effect of protection on vegetation cover and nightlights. Protection did not affect these outcomes in any meaningful way across four decades, countries, protection cohorts, population density, or land, soil, and climate characteristics. We conclude that European conservation efforts lack ambition because policymakers protect land not threatened by development or choose weak protection levels on lands that face development pressure.

Keywords: land protection; conservation; biodiversity; deforestation; vegetation cover; night-lights; staggered difference-in-differences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q23 Q24 Q57 R14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-11, Revised 2024-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-env and nep-inv
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Working Paper: An Evaluation of Protected Area Policies in the European Union (2023)
Working Paper: An Evaluation of Protected Area Policies in the European Union (2023)
Working Paper: An Evaluation of Protected Area Policies in the European Union (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:tse:wpaper:128755

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