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

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  • 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
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    Cited by:

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    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. 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.
    8. 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.

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    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

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