Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
5048996 Ecological Economics 2016 10 Pages PDF
Abstract

The conservation of endangered species and habitats frequently requires a certain type of land use which, however, leads to opportunity costs compared to profit-maximising land-use. In such a setting biodiversity conservation organisations have two main options: (1) The 'buy alternative' where they buy the area of interest and either carry out the necessary land-use measures themselves or hire firms to do so, or (2) the 'borrow alternative' where they 'borrow' the land for conservation from private landowners who agree to carry out biodiversity-enhancing land-use measures over a certain period while the conservation organisation compensates them for their opportunity costs. Comparing both alternatives raises the question of budget efficiency, i.e. which alternative will lead to a higher level of biodiversity conservation for a given financial resources? In this paper we present a conceptual ecological-economic model, and then apply the model to analyse how changes in ecological and economic parameters influence the relative efficiency performance of the two alternatives.

Related Topics
Life Sciences Agricultural and Biological Sciences Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
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