IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v91y2020ics0264837719306222.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of protected areas on the rural households’ incomes in Ethiopia

Author

Listed:
  • Estifanos, Tafesse Kefyalew
  • Polyakov, Maksym
  • Pandit, Ram
  • Hailu, Atakelty
  • Burton, Michael

Abstract

Protected areas are cornerstones for biodiversity conservation, yet they can be controversial because of their potential impact on the livelihoods of local people due to restrictions on agricultural land use and the extractive use of natural resources. This study evaluates the impact of PAs on households’ livelihoods, as measured by total household income (THI) and livestock income (LI). We use a survey and a quasi-experimental design to gather socioeconomic and biophysical data from households living within, adjacent to and outside three national parks (NPs) in Ethiopia and employ matching methods to isolate the impact of NPs. Our findings suggest that there is no evidence that the establishment of NPs adversely affects local livelihoods. Instead, we find that households within and in adjacent areas to NPs have higher incomes compared to those living outside. Understanding the heterogeneity of the effect of NPs on local livelihoods can help in designing well-targeted policy interventions that improve conservation goals while also addressing livelihood concerns of resource-dependent local communities.

Suggested Citation

  • Estifanos, Tafesse Kefyalew & Polyakov, Maksym & Pandit, Ram & Hailu, Atakelty & Burton, Michael, 2020. "The impact of protected areas on the rural households’ incomes in Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:91:y:2020:i:c:s0264837719306222
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104349
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837719306222
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104349?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robalino, Juan & Villalobos, Laura, 2015. "Protected areas and economic welfare: an impact evaluation of national parks on local workers' wages in Costa Rica," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(3), pages 283-310, June.
    2. Miranda, Juan José & Corral, Leonardo & Blackman, Allen & Asner, Gregory & Lima, Eirivelthon, 2016. "Effects of Protected Areas on Forest Cover Change and Local Communities: Evidence from the Peruvian Amazon," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 288-307.
    3. Frank Ellis, 2000. "The Determinants of Rural Livelihood Diversification in Developing Countries," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 289-302, May.
    4. Clements, Tom & Suon, Seng & Wilkie, David S. & Milner-Gulland, E.J., 2014. "Impacts of Protected Areas on Local Livelihoods in Cambodia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(S1), pages 125-134.
    5. Canavire-Bacarreza, Gustavo & Hanauer, Merlin M., 2013. "Estimating the Impacts of Bolivia’s Protected Areas on Poverty," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 265-285.
    6. Travis J. Lybbert & Christopher B. Barrett & Solomon Desta & D. Layne Coppock, 2004. "Stochastic wealth dynamics and risk management among a poor population," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 114(498), pages 750-777, October.
    7. Marco Caliendo & Sabine Kopeinig, 2008. "Some Practical Guidance For The Implementation Of Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 31-72, February.
    8. Rajeev H. Dehejia & Sadek Wahba, 2002. "Propensity Score-Matching Methods For Nonexperimental Causal Studies," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(1), pages 151-161, February.
    9. Barrett, C. B. & Reardon, T. & Webb, P., 2001. "Nonfarm income diversification and household livelihood strategies in rural Africa: concepts, dynamics, and policy implications," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 315-331, August.
    10. Estifanos, Tafesse Kefyalew & Polyakov, Maksym & Pandit, Ram & Hailu, Atakelty & Burton, Michael, 2020. "Managing conflicts between local land use and the protection of the Ethiopian wolf: Residents’ preferences for conservation program design features," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    11. Pfaff Alexander & Robalino Juan & Sanchez-Azofeifa G. Arturo & Andam Kwaw S & Ferraro Paul J, 2009. "Park Location Affects Forest Protection: Land Characteristics Cause Differences in Park Impacts across Costa Rica," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 9(2), pages 1-26, July.
    12. Guido W. Imbens & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2009. "Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 5-86, March.
    13. Sims, Katharine R.E., 2010. "Conservation and development: Evidence from Thai protected areas," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 94-114, September.
    14. Ellis, Frank, 2000. "Rural Livelihoods and Diversity in Developing Countries," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198296966.
    15. Michael Carter & Christopher Barrett, 2006. "The economics of poverty traps and persistent poverty: An asset-based approach," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(2), pages 178-199.
    16. Martin Huber & Michael Lechner & Andreas Steinmayr, 2015. "Radius matching on the propensity score with bias adjustment: tuning parameters and finite sample behaviour," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 49(1), pages 1-31, August.
    17. Ferraro, Paul J., 2002. "The local costs of establishing protected areas in low-income nations: Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2-3), pages 261-275, December.
    18. Ho, Daniel E. & Imai, Kosuke & King, Gary & Stuart, Elizabeth A., 2007. "Matching as Nonparametric Preprocessing for Reducing Model Dependence in Parametric Causal Inference," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(3), pages 199-236, July.
    19. De Pourcq, K. & Thomas, E. & Arts, B. & Vranckx, A. & Léon-Sicard, T. & Van Damme, P., 2017. "Understanding and Resolving Conflict Between Local Communities and Conservation Authorities in Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 125-135.
    20. Alberto Abadie & Guido W. Imbens, 2006. "Large Sample Properties of Matching Estimators for Average Treatment Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 74(1), pages 235-267, January.
    21. Ameha, Aklilu & Nielsen, Oystein Juul & Larsen, Helle Overgard, 2014. "Impacts of access and benefit sharing on livelihoods and forest: Case of participatory forest management in Ethiopia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 162-171.
    22. Mamo, Getachew & Sjaastad, Espen & Vedeld, Pal, 2007. "Economic dependence on forest resources: A case from Dendi District, Ethiopia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(8), pages 916-927, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Laura Villalobos & Juan Robalino & Catalina Sandoval & Francisco Alpízar, 2023. "Local Effects of Payments for Ecosystem Services on Rural Poverty," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 84(3), pages 753-774, March.
    2. Ritzel, Christian & Hoop, Daniel & Portmann, Marco & Wallner, Astrid & Mack, Gabriele, 2023. "Swiss Parks of National Importance as model regions of sustainable development – An economic success story for farmers?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    3. Peiying Dang & Linjing Ren & Jie Li, 2024. "Does rural tourism reduce relative poverty? Evidence from household surveys in western China," Tourism Economics, , vol. 30(2), pages 498-521, March.
    4. Xie, Xianxiong & Cui, Yu & Yao, Liuyang & Ni, Qi & Khan, Sufyan Ullah & Zhao, Minjuan, 2022. "Does fallow policy affect rural household income in poor areas? A quasi-experimental evidence from fallow pilot area in Northwest China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    5. Kandel, Pratikshya & Pandit, Ram & White, Benedict & Polyakov, Maksym, 2022. "Do protected areas increase household income? Evidence from a Meta-Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    6. Li, Yi & Song, Zhenjiang, 2022. "Have protected areas in China achieved the ecological and economic “win-win” goals? Evidence from the Giant Panda Reserves of the Min Mont Range," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    7. Kandel, Pratikshya & Pandit, Ram & White, Benedict, 2024. "Impacts of buffer zone policy on household income: Evidence from Chitwan National Park, Nepal," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    8. Qi Sun & Yunli Bai & Chao Fu & Xiangbo Xu & Mingxing Sun & Baodong Cheng & Linxiu Zhang, 2022. "Heterogeneous Effects of Skill Training on Rural Livelihoods around Four Biosphere Reserves in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-22, September.
    9. Nyangabo V. Musika & James V. Wakibara & Patrick A. Ndakidemi & Anna C. Treydte, 2021. "Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Increasing Illegal Livestock Grazing over Three Decades at Moyowosi Kigosi Game Reserve, Tanzania," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-12, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Canavire-Bacarreza, Gustavo & Diaz-Gutierrez, Julian Eduardo & Hanauer, Merlin M., 2018. "Unintended consequences of conservation: Estimating the impact of protected areas on violence in Colombia," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 46-70.
    2. Sims, Katharine R.E. & Alix-Garcia, Jennifer M., 2017. "Parks versus PES: Evaluating direct and incentive-based land conservation in Mexico," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 8-28.
    3. Gwenolé Le Velly & Céline Dutilly, 2016. "Evaluating Payments for Environmental Services: Methodological Challenges," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(2), pages 1-20, February.
    4. Canavire-Bacarreza, Gustavo & Hanauer, Merlin M., 2013. "Estimating the Impacts of Bolivia’s Protected Areas on Poverty," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 265-285.
    5. Miranda, Juan José & Corral, Leonardo & Blackman, Allen & Asner, Gregory & Lima, Eirivelthon, 2016. "Effects of Protected Areas on Forest Cover Change and Local Communities: Evidence from the Peruvian Amazon," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 288-307.
    6. Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Do, Truong Lam & Bühler, Dorothee & Hartje, Rebecca & Grote, Ulrike, 2015. "Rural livelihoods and environmental resource dependence in Cambodia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 282-295.
    7. Miranda, Juan Jose & Corral, Leonardo & Blackman, Allen & Asner, Gregory & Lima, Eirivelthon, 2014. "Effects of Protected Areas on Forest Cover Change and Local Communities," RFF Working Paper Series dp-14-14, Resources for the Future.
    8. Miguel Cantillo, 2015. "Dynamic Investment with Adverse Selection and Moral Hazard," Working Papers 201501, Universidad de Costa Rica, revised Mar 2015.
    9. Jones A.M & Rice N, 2009. "Econometric Evaluation of Health Policies," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 09/09, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    10. Seonho Shin, 2022. "Evaluating the Effect of the Matching Grant Program for Refugees: An Observational Study Using Matching, Weighting, and the Mantel-Haenszel Test," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 103-133, March.
    11. Gasmi, Farid & Kouakou, Dorgyles & Sanni, Maruf, 2022. "The effect of firm informality on sustainable and responsible innovation in developing countries: Evidence from Nigeria," TSE Working Papers 22-1368, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    12. Blackman, Allen, 2015. "Strict versus mixed-use protected areas: Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 14-24.
    13. Ma, Ben & Cai, Zhen & Zheng, Jie & Wen, Yali, 2019. "Conservation, ecotourism, poverty, and income inequality – A case study of nature reserves in Qinling, China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 236-244.
    14. Aparna Howlader & Amy W. Ando, 2020. "Consequences of Protected Areas for Household Forest Extraction, Time Use, and Consumption: Evidence from Nepal," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 75(4), pages 769-808, April.
    15. Juan Robalino & Alexander Pfaff & Laura Villalobos, 2015. "Deforestation spillovers from Costa Rican protected areas," Working Papers 201502, Universidad de Costa Rica, revised Sep 2015.
    16. Qi Sun & Chao Fu & Yunli Bai & Ayub M. O. Oduor & Baodong Cheng, 2023. "Livelihood Diversification and Residents’ Welfare: Evidence from Maasai Mara National Reserve," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-21, February.
    17. Jagger, Pamela & Sellers, Samuel & Kittner, Noah & Das, Ipsita & Bush, Glenn K., 2018. "Looking for Medium-term Conservation and Development Impacts of Community Management Agreements in Uganda's Rwenzori Mountains National Park," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 199-206.
    18. Miranda, Juan José & Corral, Leonardo & Blackman, Allen & Asner, Gregory & Lima, Eirivelthon, 2016. "Effects of Protected Areas on Forest Cover Change and Local Communities: Evidence from the Peruvian Amazon," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 288-307.
    19. Jan Fałkowski & Maciej Jakubowski & Paweł Strawiński, 2014. "Returns from income strategies in rural Poland," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 22(1), pages 139-178, January.
    20. Renata Baborska & Emilio Hernandez & Emiliano Magrini & Cristian Morales-Opazo, 2020. "The impact of financial inclusion on rural food security experience: A perspective from low-and middle-income countries," Review of Development Finance Journal, Chartered Institute of Development Finance, vol. 10(2), pages 1-18.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Selection bias; Protected areas; Propensity score matching; Livelihood effects of conservation; Developing countries; Causal inference;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • Q23 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Forestry
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:91:y:2020:i:c:s0264837719306222. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.