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The Economics of Terrestrial Biodiversity
Conservation in Developing Nations
Heidi J. Albers and Paul Ferraro
Introduction
Mounting evidence suggests that humans are substantially reducing the
diversity of biological resources on the planet (Warrick 1998; Ceballos and
Erlich 2002). Some natural scientists predict that a third or more of the species
on earth could become extinct in this century. Such losses are encountered
in the geological record only as a result of catastrophic events. Moreover, a substantial percentage of global biodiversity can be found in developing nations,
including many of the most endangered species. These same nations have
limited means for protecting their biodiversity, and myriad other pressing
social needs make competing claims on biodiversity. Given that biodiversity
loss is fundamentally an economic problem, economic theory and empirical
analyses can play an important role in helping to protect biological diversity in
developing nations.
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Protected Areas
Defining areas as protected and establishing restrictions on their use is the
most common policy to protect biodiversity worldwide. In this classic attempt
to provide a public good through government fiat, biodiversity is supplied
through fences and fines. In 2003, 10.8 percent of the earths terrestrial area
was designated protected, including 12.6 percent of the land area of developing
countries (EarthTrends Data Tables, 2003). Margules and Pressey (2000) state
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Conclusion
Scientists report that biodiversity supports critical ecosystem functions and the
provision of ecosystem services in a fundamental way. Many governments and
policy communities recognize the importance of biodiversity and its value
to society. Given that value, the unprecedented loss of biodiversity in this
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References
Abbot, Joanne I. O. and Ruth Mace (1999), Managing Protected Woodlands: Fuelwood
Collection and Law Enforcement in Lake Malawi National Park. Conservation Biology v.
13, n. 2: 418421 (April).
Albers, H. J. (1996), Modeling Ecological Constraints on Tropical Forest Management:
Spatial Interdependence, Irreversibility and Uncertainty, Journal of Environmental
Economics and Management, 30: 7394.
Albers, H. J. (2001), A Spatial-Intertemporal Model for Tropical Forest Management
Applied to Khao Yai National Park, Thailand. RFF Discussion Paper 0135. 2001.
8
Our analysis concentrated on in situ biodiversity protection, but ex situ conservation
through gene banks and captive breeding programs also have a role to play in protecting biodiversity. Economics has not yet been brought to bear on contrasting ex situ versus in situ conservation, nor has it yet helped to inform ex situ programs in allocating their limited budgets.
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AQ: Please
Check the
spelling
whether it is
Edmunds or
Edmonds
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