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Costs in conservation: Common costly mistakes and how to avoid them

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  • Vanessa M Adams

Abstract

There has been an increasingly prevalent message that data regarding costs must be included in conservation planning activities to make cost-efficient decisions. Despite the growing acceptance that socioeconomic context is critical to conservation success, the approaches to embedded economic and financial considerations into planning have not significantly evolved. Inappropriate cost data is frequently included in decisions, with the potential of compromising biodiversity and social outcomes. For each conservation planning step, this essay details common mistakes made when considering costs, proposing solutions to enable conservation managers to know when and how to include costs. Appropriate use of high-quality cost data obtained at the right scale will improve decision-making and ultimately avoid costly mistakes.More than two decades have passed since the initial push to consider economic costs in conservation. This Essay investigates why more progress has not been made and highlights common mistakes made when selecting, estimating, and including costs in conservation decisions.

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  • Vanessa M Adams, 2024. "Costs in conservation: Common costly mistakes and how to avoid them," PLOS Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 22(6), pages 1-17, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pbio00:3002676
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002676
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    2. C. R. Margules & R. L. Pressey, 2000. "Systematic conservation planning," Nature, Nature, vol. 405(6783), pages 243-253, May.
    3. Paul J. Ferraro, 2004. "Targeting Conservation Investments in Heterogeneous Landscapes: A Distance-Function Approach and Application to Watershed Management," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 86(4), pages 905-918.
    4. Ferraro, Paul J., 2003. "Conservation Contracting in Heterogeneous Landscapes: An Application to Watershed Protection and Threshold Constraints," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association, vol. 32(01), pages 1-12, April.
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