CIVICS/Quantitative Research Methods
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Stefan Schwarze
University of Goettingen, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Goettingen, Germany
Spring School - Integrative Conservation Planning in the South Caucasus - Tbilisi, March 05-10, 2012
Why do we need economic data for conservation planning?
- Vast expansion of human activity during the last century
- widespread conversion of natural habitat
- many species are at risk of extinction
- Large-scale anthropogenic threats to biodiversity, but only limited resources devoted to conservation.
- Where to use the limited resources for conservation?
- Maximize the conservation return on investment
Two domains for socio-economic assessments in conservation planning:
- Understand the threat to biodiverstiy
- Why do people change their land use?
- Assess the costs of conservation
- Which costs occur?
Costs of conservation
Acquisition and transaction costs: Costs involved buying the land
Management costs: Costs for managing the park (staff, vehicles, offices, etc.)
Damage costs: Damages of crops and livestock due to wild animals
Opportunity costs: Potential economic benefits from using the park area for economic activities instead of protecting it