Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/115504 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
IDB Working Paper Series No. IDB-WP-559
Publisher: 
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Washington, DC
Abstract: 
Protected areas are a cornerstone of forest conservation in developing countries. Yet we know little about their effects on forest cover change or the socioeconomic status of local communities, and even less about the relationship between these effects. This paper assesses whether 'win-win' scenarios are possible-that is, whether protected areas can both stem forest cover change and alleviate poverty. We examine protected areas in the Peruvian Amazon using high-resolution satellite images and household-level survey data for the early 2000s. To control for protected areas nonrandom siting, we rely on quasi-experimental (matching) methods. We find that the average protected area reduces forest cover change. We do not find a robust effect on local communities. Protected areas that allow sustainable extractive activities are more effective in reducing forest cover change but less effective in delivering win-win outcomes.
Subjects: 
conservation
deforestation
protected areas
poverty
land use
land conservation
JEL: 
Q56
Q23
Q24
R14
R52
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by-nc-nd Logo
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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