Establishing protected areas (national parks together with wildlife sanctuaries) in North Thailand did not reduce the likelihood of forest clearing, but wildlife sanctuaries may have reduced the probability of deforestation. Where new roads are located affects how much of a threat they are to the protected areas.
Establishing protected areas (national parks together with wildlife sanctuaries) in North Thailand did not reduce the likelihood of forest clearing, but wildlife sanctuaries may have reduced the probability of deforestation. Where new roads are located affects how much of a threat they are to protected areas.Using plot-level data, Cropper, Puri, and Griffiths estimate a bivariate probit model to explain land clearing and the siting of protected areas in North Thailand in 1986.Their model suggests that protected areas (national parks together with wildlife sanctuaries) did not reduce the likelihood of forest clearing, but wildlife sanctuaries may have reduced the probability of deforestation.Road building, by reducing the impedance-weighted distance to market, has promoted clearing, especially near the forest fringe.The authors simulate the impact of further road building to show where road building is likely to have the greatest impact on forest clearing and where it is likely to threaten protected areas.This paper - a product of Infrastructure and Environment, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to examine factors affecting deforestation in developing countries. The study was funded by the Bank's Research Support Budget under the research project quot;Spatial Models of Environmental Processes: A Study of Deforestation in Thailandquot; (RPO 683-17). The authors may be contacted at [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected].
Land use change is one of the most pervasive socioeconomic forces affecting ecological systems, economic systems, and human wellbeing. This Oxford Handbook draws on recent advances in several economic fields that investigate land use behavior, making this a must-read for those who want to understand the frontier of land economics.
Tropical Deforestation introduces readers to the important concepts for understanding the environmental challenges and consequences of the deforestation. Contributions from scientists and academics in the social sciences and humanities provide readers with an initial 'tool kit' for understanding the concepts central to their disciplinary perspective and the multi-dimensional aspects of deforestation.
Natural Resources and Economic Development, first published in 2005, explores a key paradox: why is natural resource exploitation not yielding greater benefits to the poor economies of Africa, Asia and Latin America? Part I examines this paradox both through a historical review of resource use and development and through examining current theories which explain the under-performance of today's resource-abundant economies, and proposes a frontier expansion hypothesis as an alternative explanation. Part II develops models to analyse the key economic factors underlying land expansion and water use in developing countries. Part III explores further the 'dualism within dualism' structure of resource dependency, rural poverty and resource degradation within developing countries, and through illustrative country case-studies, proposes policy and institutional reforms necessary for successful resource-based development.
In Tropical Forests, Rudel analyzes hundreds of local studies from the past twenty years to develop a much-needed, global perspective on deforestation. With separate chapters on individual regions, including South and Central America, the Caribbean, and Africa, Rudel's work offers an up-to-date assessment of the world's tropical forests. In the concluding chapter, Rudel considers the implications of these trends and describes policy directions for conserving biodiversity and promoting sustainable development in each region.
The report offers a simple framework for policy analysis by identifying three forest types: frontiers and disputed lands; lands beyond the agricultural frontier; and, mosaic lands where forests and agriculture coexist. It collates geographic and economic information for each type that will help formulate poverty-reducing forest policy.
