Elephants or Onions? Paying for Nature in Amboseli, Kenya

E.H. Bulte, R. Boone, R. Stringer, P. Thornton

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

35 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Traditional grazing grounds near Amboseli National Park (Kenya) are being rapidly converted to cropland ¿ a process that closes important wildlife corridors. We use a spatially explicit simulation model that integrates ecosystem dynamics and pastoral decision-making to explore the scope for introducing a `payments for ecosystem services¿ scheme to compensate pastoralists for spillover benefits associated with forms of land use that are compatible with wildlife conservation. Our break-even cost analysis suggests that the benefits of such a scheme likely exceed its costs for a large part of the study area, but that `leakage effects¿ through excessive stocking rates warrant close scrutiny.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)395-414
JournalEnvironment and Development Economics
Volume13
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2008

Keywords

  • biodiversity conservation
  • integrated conservation
  • development-projects
  • management
  • africa
  • determinants
  • subdivision
  • rangelands
  • livestock
  • savanna

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