1,721,323 research outputs found
Selection biases and spillovers from collective conservation incentives in the Peruvian Amazon
No full textAbstract Payments for ecosystem services are becoming popular components in strategies to conserve ecosystems and biodiversity, but their effectiveness remains poorly documented. Here we present counterfactual-based evidence on the conservation outcomes of the pilot stage of Peru’s National Forest Conservation Program (NFCP). The NFCP provides direct payments to indigenous communities in the Amazon, conditional on avoided deforestation and the adoption of sustainable production systems. Using a spatially explicit quasi-experimental evaluation design, we show that the payment scheme has achieved only small conservation impacts, in terms of avoided deforestation. Counter-intuitively, these materialized largely on land not enrolled for conservation, due to spillover effects. Conservation effects on contracted land were negligible because communities were not chosen according to high deforestation threats, and they self-enrolled low-pressure forest areas for conservation. Occasional non-sanctioned contract incompliance contributed to these outcomes. We highlight implications for the design and implementation of up-scaled national conservation programs. Methodologically, we demonstrate the important role of choosing the appropriate spatial scale in evaluating area-based conservation measures.Video AbstractDeutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst https://doi.org/10.13039/501100001655Direktoratet for Utviklingssamarbeid https://doi.org/10.13039/100007843Robert Bosch Stiftung https://doi.org/10.13039/501100001646Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung https://doi.org/10.13039/50110000234
Impacts of conservation incentives in protected areas: The case of Bolsa Floresta, Brazil
No full textConditional incentives are a promising complementary approach to conserve tropical forests, for example, in multiple-use protected areas. In this paper we analyze the environmental impacts of Bolsa Floresta, a forest conservation program that combines direct conditional payments with livelihood-focused investments in 15 multiple-use reserves in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. We use grid-based data, nearest-neighbor matching, and panel data econometrics to compare three forest-related program outcomes – deforestation, degradation, and fires – of participating and non-participating reserve areas. Forest threats were low before and after treatment, because the program prioritized low-pressure sites. Thus, we find significant but small additional conservation effects from the implementation of the program. Notwithstanding, treatment effects are relatively larger in areas with higher deforestation pressure and higher potential agricultural income. Our findings add to the growing body of evidence showing that adverse spatial targeting of conservation incentives, i.e. disproportionally enrolling low–pressure sites, is a prime cause for the low additionality found in rigorous impact evaluations of many existing initiatives.http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100007843 Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperationhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659 German Research Foundationhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100002347 Federal Ministry of Education and Research Bonn Offic
Economic incentives for reducing wildfire risk: Taking stock of an emerging field
No full texthttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100010661 Horizon 2020 Framework Programmehttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100005156 Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftun
Examining innovative designs of agri-environmental schemes in Europe:A case comparison of impact pathways
No full textAgri-environmental schemes (AES), a subtype of payments for ecosystem services (PES), aim to address Europe's environmental and climate objectives by incentivising farmers to maintain or shift to farming practices that deliver additional ecosystem services (ES). We develop a theory of change (ToC) for AES, reviewing nine European case studies at different implementation stages, yet all featuring innovative contract solutions to increase ES provision (e.g., water quality, pollination) and enhance bird and grassland biodiversity. Mirroring ecosystem and geographic variety across Europe, we analyse observed strengths and weaknesses in designing, implementing, and evaluating AES, and flag emerging research gaps. Using the comparative case study (CCS) method to analyse case-specific secondary data, we highlight the importance of local contextualization and management customization across landscapes, differentiating contract types to target variable farmer groups. Some regionally implemented schemes outside the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) framework emphasize trust-building and prove well-tailored to local conditions. New result-based schemes may achieve both farmer uptake and incremental ES delivery, depending on ES types and costs. Spatial coordination incentives (agglomeration bonuses and thresholds) stimulate farmer uptake, but their cost effectiveness remains undocumented. Collective AES schemes can work well when collaborative traditions and accumulated social capital are ex-ante present. Mixing incentive policies with regulatory threat may boost AES uptake. Generally, high opportunity costs among intensively producing farms and complex administrative processes constitute key obstacles hampering AES success. Current research mostly measures AES success in terms of farmer participation (ToC outputs), while rigorous environmental impact evaluations (ToC outcomes and impacts) are essentially lacking. Addressing the identified obstacles and research gaps might enhance AES effectiveness, but also provides more educated perspectives on realistic potentials for AES to support European sustainability goals.</p
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Oil wealth and the fate of forest: a comparative study of eight tropical countries
No full textOil production can damage rainforests, but this is just one side of a complicated story about the impact of oil on land use. This book a study of eight tropical oil-producing countries, examines the linkages between trade, macroeconomics and policies affecting the environment. In a balanced and comprehensive review, including a detailed assessment of land use in Cameroon, Ecuador, Gabon, Papua New Guinea and Venezuela, the author comes up with a counterintuitive suggestion: oil revenues often indirectly come to protect tropical forests. There are numerous implications for policy formulation to decide what can be done to diminish deforestation without jeopardising economic growth
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