Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-pftt2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-01T14:07:51.215Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Elephants or onions? Paying for nature in Amboseli, Kenya

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2008

ERWIN H. BULTE ,
RANDALL B. BOONE ,
RANDY STRINGER  and
PHILIP K. THORNTON
ERWIN H. BULTE*
Affiliation:
Development Economics Group, Wageningen University, and Department of Economics, Tilburg University, P.O. Box 8130, 6700 EW Wageningen, Netherlands. Email: Erwin.bulte@wur.nl
RANDALL B. BOONE
Affiliation:
Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, 1499 Campus Delivery – B234 NESB, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1499, USA. Email: rboone@nrel.colostate.edu
RANDY STRINGER
Affiliation:
School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, University of Adelaide. Email: randy.stringer@adelaide.edu.au
PHILIP K. THORNTON
Affiliation:
International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya and the Institute of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. Email: p.thornton@cgiar.org
*
*Corresponding author.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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.

Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 13 , Issue 3: Payment for ecosystem services , June 2008 , pp. 395 - 414
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, W., Aveling, R., Brockington, D., Dickson, B., Elliott, J., Hutton, J., Roe, D., Vira, B., and Wolmer, W. 2004, ‘Biodiversity, conservation and the eradication of poverty’, Science 306: 1146–1149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Adams, W.M. and Hulme, D. 2001, ‘If community conservation is the answer in Africa, what is the question?’, Oryx 35: 193–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandara, R. and Tisdell, C. 2004, ‘The net benefit of saving the Asian elephant: a policy and contingent valuation study’, Ecological Economics 48: 93–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barbier, E.B. 1992, ‘Community based development in Africa’, in Barbier, E. and Swanson, T. (eds), Economics for the Wilds, Washington, DC: Island Press, pp. 15–33.Google Scholar
Barrett, C.B. and Arcese, P. 1995, ‘Are integrated conservation development projects sustainable? On the conservation of large mammals in sub-Saharan Africa’, World Development 23: 1073–1084.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, C.B. and Arcese, P. 1998, ‘Wildlife harvesting in integrated conservation and development projects: linking harvest to household demand, agricultural production and environmental shocks in the Serengeti’, Land Economics 74: 449–465.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blanc, J.J., Thouless, C.R., Hart, J.A., Dublin, H.T., Douglas-Hamilton, I., Craig, C.G., and Barnes, R.F.W. 2003, ‘African Elephant Status Report 2002: an update from the African Elephant Database’, Occasional Paper of the IUCN Species Survival Comm. No. 29, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN, UNEP.Google Scholar
Boone, R.B. 2005, ‘Quantifying changes in vegetation in shrinking grazing areas’, Conservation and Society 3: 150–173.Google Scholar
Boone, R.B. and BurnSilver, S.B. 2002, ‘Integrated assessment results to aid policy decisions in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania’, Global Livestock Collaborative Research Support Program, POLEYC Project, University of California, Davis.Google Scholar
Boone, R.B., BurnSilver, S.B., Thornton, P.K., Worden, J.S., and Galvin, K.A. 2005, ‘Quantifying declines in livestock due to land subdivision’, Rangeland Ecology and Management 58: 523–532.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boone, R.B., Coughenour, M.B., Galvin, K.A., and Ellis, J.E. 2002, ‘Addressing management questions for Ngorongoro Conservation Area using the Savanna Modeling System’, African Journal of Ecology 40: 138–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boone, R.B., Galvin, K.A., Coughenour, M.B., Hudson, J.W., Weisberg, P.J., Vogel, C.H., and Ellis, J.E. 2004, ‘Ecosystem modeling adds value to a South African climate forecast’, Climatic Change 64: 317–340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brandon, K., Redford, K.H., and Sanderson, S.E. 1998, Parks in Peril: People, Politics, and Protected Areas, Washington, DC: Island Press.Google Scholar
Bruner, A.G., Gullison, R.E., Rice, R.E., and Fonseca, G.A.B. 2001, ‘Effectiveness of parks in protecting tropical biodiversity’, Science 291: 125–128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buckley, D.J., Coughenour, M.B., Blyth, C.B., O'Leary, D.J., and Bentz, J.A. 1993, ‘Ecosystem management model – Elk Island National Park: a case study of integrating environmental models with GIS’, Proceedings of the 2nd Int. Conf. Integrating GIS and Environ. Mod., National Center for Geographic Information Analysis, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.Google Scholar
BurnSilver, S.B. 2007, Economic Strategies of Diversification and Intensification among Maasai Pastoralists: Changes in Landscape Use and Movement Patterns in Kajiado District, Kenya, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins (in press).Google Scholar
Campbell, D.J., Gichohi, H., Mwangi, A., and Chege, L. 2000, ‘Land use conflicts in S.E. Kajiado District, Kenya’, Land Use Policy 17: 339–348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, D.J., Gichohi, H., Reid, R., Mwangi, A., Chege, L., and Sawin, T. 2002, ‘Competition and conflict between people and wildlife in S.E. Kajiado District, Kenya’, Working Paper Number 18, ILRI, Nairobi (http://www.lucideastafrica.org).Google Scholar
Campbell, D.J., Lusch, D.P., Smucker, T., and Wangui, E.E. 2003, ‘Land use change patterns and root cause in the Loitokitok Area, Kajiado district, Kenya’, Working Paper Number 19, ILRI, Nairobi (www.lucideastafrica.org).Google Scholar
Coughenour, M.B. 1985, ‘Graminoid responses to grazing by large herbivores: adaptations, expectations and interacting processes’, Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 72: 852–863.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coughenour, M.B. 1992, ‘Spatial modelling and landscape characterization of an African pastoral ecosystem: a prototype model and its potential use for monitoring drought’, in McKenzie, D., Hyatt, D., and McDonald, V. (eds), Ecological Indicators, Vol. 1, New York: Elsevier, pp. 787–810.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coughenour, M., Boone, R., Thornton, P., and Howe, R. 2002, ‘Integrated modeling and assessment of changing pastoral ecosystems – experience in East Africa, and potential for application in Mongolia’, in Chuluun, T. and Ojima, D. (eds), Fundamental issues affecting sustainability on the Mongolian steppe, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: International Institute for Study of Nomadic Civilization, pp. 313–326.Google Scholar
Damania, R., Stringer, R., Karanth, K.U., and Stith, B. 2003, ‘The economics of protecting tiger populations: linking household behavior to poaching and prey depletion’, Land Economics 79: 198–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Leeuw, J., Prins, H.H.T., Njuguna, E.C., Said, M.Y., and de By, R.A. 1998, Interpretation of DRSRS Animal Counts (1977–1997) in the Rangeland Districts of Kenya, Enschede, The Netherlands: International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences.Google Scholar
Ellis, J. and Coughenour, M.B. 1998, ‘The SAVANNA integrated modeling system’, in Squires, V. and Sidahmed, A. (eds), Drylands: Sustainable Use of Rangelands in the Twenty-First Century, IFAD Technical Reports, Rome, pp. 97–106.Google Scholar
Felder, S. 1993, ‘Unilateral CO2 reductions and leakage: the consequences of international trade in oil and basic materials’, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 25: 162–176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hemp, A. 2005, ‘Climate change-driven forest fires marginalize the impact of ice cap wasting on Kilimanjaro’, Global Change Biology 11: 1013–1023.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoare, R.E. 1999, ‘Determinants of human–elephant conflict in a land-use mosaic’, Journal of Applied Ecology 36: 689–700.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kellert, S.R., Mehta, J.N., Ebbin, S.A., Lichtenfeld, L.L. 2000, ‘Community natural resource management: promise, rhetoric, and reality’, Society and Natural Resources 13: 705–715.Google Scholar
Kinyamario, J.I. 1996, ‘NPP Grassland: Nairobi, Kenya, 1984–1994’, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, TN: Available at: http://www.daac.ornl.govGoogle Scholar
Landell-Mills, N. and Porras, I. 2002, Silver Bullet or Fools' Gold? London: International Institute for the Environment and Development (IIED).Google Scholar
Loomis, J. and White, D. 1996, ‘Economic benefits of rare and endangered species: summary and meta-analysis’, Ecological Economics 18: 197–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Margules, C. and Pressey, R. 2000, ‘Systematic conservation planning’, Nature 405: 243–253.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mburu, J., Birner, R., and Zeller, M. 2003, ‘Relative importance and determinants of landowners' transaction costs in collaborative wildlife management in Kenya: an empirical analysis’, Ecological Economics 45: 59–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MEA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) 2005, Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis, Washington, DC: Island Press.Google Scholar
Murombedzi, J.C. 1999, ‘Devolution and stewardship in Zimbabwe's CAMPFIRE programme’, Journal of International Development 11: 287–293.3.0.CO;2-M>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norton-Griffiths, M. and Southey, C. 1995, ‘The opportunity costs of biodiversity conservation in Kenya’, Ecological Economics 12: 125–139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oesterheld, M., DiBella, C., and Kerdiles, H. 1998, ‘Relation between NOAA-AVHRR satellite data and stocking rate of rangelands’, Ecological Applications 8: 207–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pagiola, S., Arcenas, A., and Platais, G. 2005, ‘Can payments for environmental services help reduce poverty? An exploration of the issues and the evidence to date from Latin America’, World Development 33: 237–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reid, R., Gachimbi, L., Worden, J., Wangui, D., Mathai, S., Mugatha, S., Cambell, D., Maitima, J., Butt, B., Gichohi, H., and Ogol, E. 2004, Linkages between Changes in Land Use, Biodiversity and Land Degradation in the Loitokitok Area of Kenya, Lucid Working Paper Series Number 49, Nairobi: ILRI (www.lucideastafrica.org).Google Scholar
Rykiel, E.J. 1996, ‘Testing ecological models: the meaning of validation’, Ecological Modelling 90: 229–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simpson, D. 1995, Why Integrated Conservation and Development Projects May Achieve Neither Goal, Resources for the Future Discussion Paper 95–2, Washington, DC: Resources for the Future.Google Scholar
Skarpe, C., Jansson, I., Seljeli, L., Bergstrom, R., and Roskaft, E. 2007, ‘Browsing by goats on three spatial scales in a semi-arid savanna’, Journal of Arid Environments 68: 480–491.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thornton, P.K., BurnSilver, S.B., Boone, R.B., and Galvin, K.A. 2006, ‘Modeling the impacts of group ranch subdivision on agro-pastoral households in Kajiado, Kenya’, Agricultural Systems 87: 331–356.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thornton, P.K., Fawcett, R.H., Galvin, K.A., Boone, R.B., Hudson, J.W., and Vogel, C.H. 2004, ‘Evaluating management options that use climate forecasts: modeling livestock production systems in the semi-arid zone of South Africa’, Climate Research 26: 33–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thornton, P., Galvin, K., and Boone, R. 2003, ‘An agro-pastoral household model for the rangelands of East Africa’, Agricultural Systems 76: 601–622.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tisdell, C.A. 1995, ‘Issues in biodiversity conservation including the role of local communities’, Environmental Conservation 22: 216–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Western, D. 2001, ‘Taking the broad view of conservation: a response to Adams and Hulme’, Oryx 35: 201–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wunder, S. 2005, Payments for Ecosystem Services: Some Nuts and Bolts, Bogor: CIFOR Occasional Paper No. 42.Google Scholar
WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) 2000, Elephants in the balance: Conserving Africa's Elephants, www.panda.org/resources/publications/species/elephants/index.htmlGoogle Scholar