Abstract

VARGAS, Andrés  and  REYES, Mauro. Economic Incentives for Habitat Conservation: A Literature Review. Lect. Econ. [online]. 2011, n.74, pp.151-170. ISSN 0120-2596.

Increasing evidence on the accelerated deterioration of ecosystems and biodiversity loss has spurred the design and implementation of conservation strategies based on economic incentives. Two arguments justify this approach: i) the inalienability of private property, and ii) economic efficiency. The objective of this paper is to analyze, in terms of economic efficiency and environmental effectiveness, the various types of economic instruments used for promoting habitat conservation. Through an extensive literature review, we find that the main difficulty facing economic incentives is the uncertainty surrounding the effect of instruments on the total area to be conserved and its spatial configuration, which in turn implies uncertainty over the type and quantity of environmental services supplied.

Keywords : Conservation; biodiversity; environmental services; economic incentives.

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