Will buying tropical forest carbon benefit the poor? Evidence from Costa Rica

We review claims linking both payments for carbon and poverty to deforestation. We examine these effects empirically for Costa Rica during the late 20th century using an econometric approach that addresses the irreversibilities in deforestation. We find significant effects of the relative returns to forest on deforestation rates. Thus, carbon payments would induce conservation and also carbon sequestration, and if land users were poor could conserve forest while addressing rural poverty. We note that the poor appear to be marginalized in the sense of living where land profitability is lower. Those areas also have more forest. We find that poorer areas may have a higher supply response to payments, but even without this effect poor areas might be included and benefit more due to higher (per capita) forest area. They might be included less due to transactions costs, though. Unless the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol is modified in its implementation to allow credits from avoided deforestation, such benefits are likely to be limited.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: 104963 Pfaff, Alexander Columbia University, New York, NY, US, 82798 Kerr, Suzi (autor/a) Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, USA, Lipper, Leslie United Nations FAO, USA 86965, 55722 Cavatassi, Romina (autor/a) United Nations FAO, USA, 61395 Davis, Benjamin (autor/a) United Nations FAO, USA, 76933 Hendy, Joanna (autor/a) Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, USA, 115641 Sanchez Azofeifa, G. Arturo (autor/a) University of Alberta, USA
Format: Texto biblioteca
Language:eng
Published: Ámsterdam (Países Bajos) Elsevier 2007
Subjects:BOSQUE TROPICAL, CARBONO, PAGO, SECUESTRO DE CARBONO, DEFORESTACION, DESARROLLO ECONOMICO Y SOCIAL, SOSTENIBILIDAD, MODELOS, ECUACIONES ALOMETRICAS, POBREZA, UTILIZACION DE LA TIERRA, SERVICIOS AMBIENTALES, CONSERVACION DE LA NATURALEZA, TROPICAL FORESTS, CARBON, PAYMENT, DEFORESTATION, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, SUSTAINABILITY, MODELS, POVERTY, LAND USE, NATURE CONSERVATION,
Online Access:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S026483770600069X
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