Experimental evidence on the impact of payments and property rights on forest user decisions

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cg.authorship.typesCGIAR and developing country instituteen
cg.contributor.crpPolicies, Institutions, and Markets
cg.contributor.crpWater, Land and Ecosystems
cg.contributor.donorEuropean Research Councilen
cg.contributor.donorForeign and Commonwealth Officeen
cg.contributor.donorUniversity of Stirlingen
cg.contributor.donorInternational Development Research Centreen
cg.contributor.donorLeverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowshipen
cg.contributor.donorCGIAR Trust Funden
cg.coverage.countryKenya
cg.coverage.countryMadagascar
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2KE
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2MG
cg.coverage.regionEastern Africa
cg.coverage.regionSub-Saharan Africa
cg.coverage.regionAfrica
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2021.661987en
cg.issn2673-611Xen
cg.journalFrontiers in Conservation Scienceen
cg.reviewStatusPeer Reviewen
cg.volume2en
dc.contributor.authorRakotonarivo, O. Sarobidyen
dc.contributor.authorBell, Andrewen
dc.contributor.authorDillon, Brianen
dc.contributor.authorDuthie, A. Bradleyen
dc.contributor.authorKipchumba, Adamsen
dc.contributor.authorRasolofoson, Ranaivo Andriarilalaen
dc.contributor.authorRazafimanahaka, Julieen
dc.contributor.authorBunnefeld, Nilsen
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-29T12:58:08Zen
dc.date.available2025-01-29T12:58:08Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/171416
dc.titleExperimental evidence on the impact of payments and property rights on forest user decisionsen
dcterms.abstractClearing forests for swidden agriculture, despite providing food to millions of farmers in the tropics, can be a major driver of deforestation. Payments for ecosystem services schemes can help stop swidden agriculture-induced forest loss by rewarding forest users for maintaining forests. Clear and secure property rights are a key prerequisite for the success of these payment schemes. In this study, we use a novel iterative and dynamic game in Madagascar and Kenya to examine farmer responses to individual and communal rights to forestlands, with and without financial incentives, in the context of swidden agricultural landscapes. We find that farmer pro conservation behaviour, defined by the propensity to keep forests or fallows on their lands, as well as the effects of land tenure and conservation incentive treatments on such behaviour, differ across the two contexts. The average percentages of land left forest/fallow in the game are 65 and 35% in Kenya and Madagascar, respectively. Individual ownership significantly improves decisions to preserve forests or leave land fallow in Madagascar but has no significant effect in Kenya. Also, the effect of the individual tenure treatment varies across education and wealth levels in Madagascar. Subsidy increases farmers' willingness to support conservation interests in both countries, but its effect is four times greater in Kenya. We find no interaction effects of the two treatments in either country. We conclude that the effectiveness of financial incentives for conservation and tenure reform in preserving forestland vary significantly across contexts. We show how interactive games can help develop a more targeted and practical approach to environmental policy.en
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.available2021-07-16
dcterms.bibliographicCitationRakotonarivo, O. Sarobidy; Bell, Andrew; Dillon, Brian; Duthie, A. Bradley; Kipchumba, Adams; Rasolofoson, Ranaivo Andriarilala; Razafimanahaka, Julie; and Bunnefeld, Nils. 2021. Experimental evidence on the impact of payments and property rights on forest user decisions. Frontiers in Conservation Science 2: 661987. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2021.661987en
dcterms.issued2021
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-4.0
dcterms.publisherFrontiers Mediaen
dcterms.subjectshifting cultivationen
dcterms.subjectpayments for ecosystem servicesen
dcterms.subjectproperty rightsen
dcterms.subjectland tenureen
dcterms.subjectforest landen
dcterms.subjectforest conservationen
dcterms.subjectagricultureen
dcterms.typeJournal Article

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