Douglas C. MacMillan

Conservation businesses and conservation planning in a biological diversity hotspot.

The allocation of land to biological diversity conservation competes with other land uses and the needs of society for development, food, and extraction of natural resources. Trade-offs between biological diversity conservation and alternative land uses are unavoidable, given the realities of limited conservation resources and the competing demands of society. We developed a conservation-planning assessment for the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, which forms the central component of the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany biological diversity hotspot. Our objective was to enhance biological diversity protection while promoting sustainable development and providing spatial guidance in the resolution of potential policy conflicts over priority areas for conservation at risk of transformation. The conservation-planning assessment combined spatial-distribution models for 646 conservation features, spatial economic-return models for 28 alternative land uses, and spatial maps for 4 threats. Nature-based tourism businesses were competitive with other land uses and could provide revenues of >US

Exploring Values, Context and Perceptions in Contingent Valuation Studies: The CV Market Stall Technique and Willingness to Pay for Wildlife Conservation

60 million/year to local stakeholders and simultaneously help meeting conservation goals for almost half the conservation features in the planning region. Accounting for opportunity costs substantially decreased conflicts between biological diversity, agricultural use, commercial forestry, and mining. Accounting for economic benefits arising from conservation and reducing potential policy conflicts with alternative plans for development can provide opportunities for successful strategies that combine conservation and sustainable development and facilitate conservation action.

Synergies for Improving Oil Palm Production and Forest Conservation in Floodplain Landscapes

Public preferences for conservation and environmental management may be identified in willingness to pay (WTP) studies. Normally part of a contingent valuation exercise, WTP studies elicit monetary estimates of non-market economic goods. This paper describes a new approach to WTP, the CV Market Stall, a technique that adds a discursive, qualitative dimension to contingent valuation. It is suggested that the CV Market Stall technique is a good method for exploring attitudes and responses to environmental project proposals. The flexible format, with an emphasis upon information provision, discussion and learning would also allow contingent valuation to be extended to much more complex and uncertain environmental issues.

Can non-timber forest products solve livelihood problems? A case study from Periyar Tiger Reserve, India

Lowland tropical forests are increasingly threatened with conversion to oil palm as global demand and high profit drives crop expansion throughout the world’s tropical regions. Yet, landscapes are not homogeneous and regional constraints dictate land suitability for this crop. We conducted a regional study to investigate spatial and economic components of forest conversion to oil palm within a tropical floodplain in the Lower Kinabatangan, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. The Kinabatangan ecosystem harbours significant biodiversity with globally threatened species but has suffered forest loss and fragmentation. We mapped the oil palm and forested landscapes (using object-based-image analysis, classification and regression tree analysis and on-screen digitising of high-resolution imagery) and undertook economic modelling. Within the study region (520,269 ha), 250,617 ha is cultivated with oil palm with 77% having high Net-Present-Value (NPV) estimates (

The management and role of Highland sporting estates in the early twenty-first century: the owner's view of a unique but contested form of land use.

413/ha− yr–

Identifying where REDD+ financially out-competes oil palm in floodplain landscapes using a fine-scale approach

637/ha− yr); but 20.5% is under-producing. In fact 6.3% (15,810 ha) of oil palm is commercially redundant (with negative NPV of

When successful conservation breeds conflict: an economic perspective on wild goose management

-299/ha− yr-

The valuation of forest carbon services by Mexican citizens: the case of Guadalajara city and La Primavera biosphere reserve

-65/ha− yr) due to palm mortality from flood inundation. These areas would have been important riparian or flooded forest types. Moreover, 30,173 ha of unprotected forest remain and despite its value for connectivity and biodiversity 64% is allocated for future oil palm. However, we estimate that at minimum 54% of these forests are unsuitable for this crop due to inundation events. If conversion to oil palm occurs, we predict a further 16,207 ha will become commercially redundant. This means that over 32,000 ha of forest within the floodplain would have been converted for little or no financial gain yet with significant cost to the ecosystem. Our findings have globally relevant implications for similar floodplain landscapes undergoing forest transformation to agriculture such as oil palm. Understanding landscape level constraints to this crop, and transferring these into policy and practice, may provide conservation and economic opportunities within these seemingly high opportunity cost landscapes.

Why Has Human–Carnivore Conflict Not Been Resolved in Namibia?

Collection of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has been promoted in India as a strategy to aid wildlife conservation whilst simultaneously alleviating poverty, and recent legislation now gives communities living within protected areas the legal right to collect NTFPs. However, research on the financial rewards from NTFP collection and its contribution to sustainable de- velopment is equivocal. In a case study in the Periyar Tiger Reserve, India, we examined whether NTFP collection can solve livelihood problems by analysing revenues obtained from various NTFP species, estimating the economic returns to collectors from various social backgrounds, and exploring the attitudes of collectors towards their profession. We found that black damar resin from the tree Canarium strictum (61.3%) and mace from Myristica spp. (35.5%) were the most commonly collected NTFPs, and the most valuable NTFPs were honey from Apis cerana indica (USD 4.12 kg -1 ), cardamom Elettaria cardamomum (USD 3.67 kg -1 ) and Myristica spp. (USD 2.77 kg -1 ). Mean daily revenue from NTFP collection was USD 3.15 - SD 4.19 day -1 , and the lowest daily revenues were earned by part-time collectors with low socio-economic status such as migrants, forest-dwellers or those without access to agri- cultural land. Most collectors (82%) did not wish to continue harvesting NTFPs if alternative livelihoods from agriculture could be provided, and none wanted their children to be NTFP collectors. Our findings suggest that, with respect to social justice, poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability, the role of NTFP collection in sustainable development is questionable.

Understanding Urban Demand for Wild Meat in Vietnam: Implications for Conservation Actions

Abstract The role of Highland sporting estates in contemporary society is contested over issues as diverse as local economic development, deer management, illegal persecution of raptors and restrictions on public access to the hills. Drawing upon findings from a questionnaire survey and detailed in depth interviews this paper attempts to present a contemporary overview of the management and role of sporting estates as perceived by the owners themselves. For most the purchase of a sporting estate is a lifestyle choice and management centres on the non-financial benefits that flow from ownership and unfettered commercialism is widely regarded as undesirable. Owners are sympathetic to nature conservation but some ‘conservation activities’ would appear to have only tenuous links with mainstream interests of conservation organisations. Attitudes to public access are shaped by their potential to conflict with sporting activities and personal privacy but owners were largely tolerant of most activities except mountain biking, camping and canoeing. The uniformity of views and practices about estate management among owners was striking, with most rigidly adhering to traditional aims, practices and values: innovations were largely frowned upon and there appeared to be little enthusiasm for change of any kind.