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Evaluating heterogeneous conservation effects of forest protection in Indonesia.

ABSTRACT: Establishing legal protection for forest areas is the most common policy used to limit forest loss. This article evaluates the effectiveness of seven Indonesian forest protected areas introduced between 1999 and 2012. Specifically, we explore how the effectiveness of these parks varies over space. Protected areas have mixed success in preserving forest, and it is important for conservationists to understand where they work and where they do not. Observed differences in the estimated treatment effect of protection may be driven by several factors. Indonesia is particularly diverse, with the landscape, forest and forest threats varying greatly from region to region, and this diversity may drive differences in the effectiveness of protected areas in conserving forest. However, the observed variation may also be spurious and arise from differing degrees of bias in the estimated treatment effect over space. In this paper, we use a difference-in-differences approach comparing treated observations and matched controls to estimate the effect of each protected area. We then distinguish the true variation in protected area effectiveness from spurious variation driven by several sources of estimation bias. Based on our most flexible method that allows the data generating process to vary across space, we find that the national average effect of protection preserves an additional 1.1% of forest cover; however the effect of individual parks range from a decrease of 3.4% to an increase of 5.3% and the effect of most parks differ from the national average. Potential biases may affect estimates in two parks, but results consistently show Sebangau National Park is more effective while two parks are substantially less able to protect forest cover than the national average.

SUBMITTER: Shah P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4454437 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Evaluating heterogeneous conservation effects of forest protection in Indonesia.

Shah Payal P Baylis Kathy K

PloS one 20150603 6

Establishing legal protection for forest areas is the most common policy used to limit forest loss. This article evaluates the effectiveness of seven Indonesian forest protected areas introduced between 1999 and 2012. Specifically, we explore how the effectiveness of these parks varies over space. Protected areas have mixed success in preserving forest, and it is important for conservationists to understand where they work and where they do not. Observed differences in the estimated treatment ef ...[more]

PMID: 26039754

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Project description:BackgroundA major challenge to malaria elimination is identifying and targeting populations that are harbouring residual infections and contributing to persistent transmission. In many near-elimination settings in Southeast Asia, it is known that forest-goers are at higher risk for malaria infection, but detailed information on their behaviours and exposures is not available.MethodsIn Aceh Province, Indonesia, a near-elimination setting where a growing proportion of malaria is due to Plasmodium knowlesi, a case-control study was conducted to identify risk factors for symptomatic malaria, characteristics of forest-goers, and key intervention points. From April 2017 to September 2018, cases and controls were recruited and enrolled in a 1:3 ratio. Cases had confirmed malaria infection by rapid diagnostic test or microscopy detected at a health facility (HF). Gender-matched controls were recruited from passive case detection among individuals with suspected malaria who tested negative at a health facility (HF controls), and community-matched controls were recruited among those testing negative during active case detection. Multivariable logistic regression (unconditional for HF controls and conditional for community controls) was used to identify risk factors for symptomatic malaria infection.ResultsThere were 45 cases, of which 27 were P. knowlesi, 17 were Plasmodium vivax, and one was not determined. For controls, 509 and 599 participants were recruited from health facilities and the community, respectively. Forest exposures were associated with high odds of malaria; in particular, working and sleeping in the forest (HF controls: adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 21.66, 95% CI 5.09-92.26; community controls: aOR 16.78, 95% CI 2.19-128.7) and having a second residence in the forest (aOR 6.29, 95% CI 2.29-17.31 and 13.53, 95% CI 2.10-87.12). Male forest-goers were a diverse population employed in a variety of occupations including logging, farming, and mining, sleeping in settings, such as huts, tents, and barracks, and working in a wide range of group sizes. Reported use of protective measures, such as nets, hammock nets, mosquito coils, and repellents was low among forest-goers and interventions at forest residences were absent.ConclusionsSecond residences in the forest and gaps in use of protective measures point to key malaria interventions to improve coverage in forest-going populations at risk for P. knowlesi and P. vivax in Aceh, Indonesia. Intensified strategies tailored to specific sub-populations will be essential to achieve elimination.

Project description:QuestionHow conservation and forest type affect macrofungal compositional diversity is not well understood. Even less is known about macrofungal associations with plants, soils, and geoclimatic conditions.LocationSouthern edge of boreal forest distribution in China, named as Huzhong Nature Reserve.MethodsWe surveyed a total of 72 plots for recording macrofungi, plants, and topography in 2015 and measured soil organic carbon, nitrogen, and bulk density. Effects of conservation and forest types on macrofungi and plants were compared, and their associations were decoupled by structural equation modeling (SEM) and redundancy ordination (RDA).ResultsConservation and forest type largely shaped macrofungal diversity. Most of the macrofungal traits declined with the conservation intensities or peaked at the middle conservation region. Similarly, 91% of macrofungal traits declined or peaked in the middle succession stage of birch-larch forests. Forest conservation resulted in the observation of sparse, larch-dominant, larger tree forests. Moreover, the soil outside the Reserve had more water, higher fertility, and lower bulk density, showing miscellaneous wood forest preference. There is a complex association between conservation site characteristics, soils, plants, and macrofungi. Variation partitioning showed that soil N was the top-one factor explaining the macrofungal variations (10%). As shown in SEM coefficients, conservation effect to macrofungi (1.1-1.2, p < .05) was like those from soils (1.2-1.6, p < .05), but much larger than the effect from plants (0.01-0.14, p > .10). For all tested macrofungal traits, 89%-97% of their variations were from soils, and 5%-21% were from conservation measures, while plants compensated 1%-10% of these effects. Our survey found a total of 207 macrofungal species, and 65 of them are new updates in this Reserve, indicating data shortage for the macrofungi list here.ConclusionOur findings provide new data for the joint conservation of macrofungi and plant communities, highlighting the crucial importance of soil matrix for macrofungal conservation in boreal forests.

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Project description:Numerous bird species, often rare or endangered, rely on the presence of standing and downed deadwood for shelter, nesting, and foraging. Habitat quality was evaluated on the basis of deadwood volume, the density of large standing deadwood, and the space filling index (SFI). The SFI reflects the degree of space filling of the bottom layers taking into account tree trunks, seedlings, saplings, ground vegetation, stumps, and downed deadwood. Analysis encompassed all special protection areas (SPAs) in Poland (a total of 107 SPAs containing 7974 sample plots monitored under the National Forest Inventory). An additional in-depth analysis was conducted for 30 SPAs with the greatest share of forest habitats. The studied indicators varied substantially both between and within individual SPAs, with deadwood volume ranging from 1.3 to 50.5 m3 ha-1 (mean of 9.0 m3 ha-1) and the density of large standing deadwood (diameter at breast height ≥ 30 cm) from 0.1 to 16.0 ind ha-1 (mean of 2.2 ind ha-1). These values were relatively low compared to the density of living trees with corresponding dimensions (111 ind ha-1). SFI analysis indicated high or very high space filling of the bottom forest layers on 14-56% of sample plots in a given SPA. The presence of deadwood was found to be significantly positively affected by SPA location in the mountains, a greater proportion of sites with higher fertility, a greater share of forest area under strict protection, as well as higher stand volume within a given SPA. The correlation between deadwood volume and the density of birds (primary and secondary cavity nesters) in individual SPAs was positive (R = 0.60). As compared to lowland areas, SPAs in mountain areas are generally characterized by high stand volumes, a greater density of large living trees, and a greater amount of diverse deadwood. In those areas conservation measures should involve continuous monitoring and diagnosing of any problems associated with the populations of individual bird species; focused efforts should be implemented to support those species that exhibit unfavorable population trends. In most lowland SPAs measures aimed at the improvement of site conditions for birds must be more extensive than in the mountains, with a low abundance of dead trees (especially large ones). These parameters can be improved by retaining some senescent stands in managed forests until their natural death and implementing a strict protection regime in areas of high conservation value.

Project description:Background:While the importance of conserving ecosystems for sustainable development is widely recognized, it is increasingly evident that despite delivering global benefits, conservation often comes at local cost. Protected areas funded by multilateral lenders have explicit commitments to ensure that those negatively affected are adequately compensated. We make the first comparison of the magnitude and distribution of the local costs of a protected area with the magnitude and distribution of the compensation provided under the World Bank social safeguard policies (Performance Standard 5). Methods:In the Ankeniheny-Zahamena Corridor (a new protected area and REDD+ pilot project in eastern Madagascar), we used choice experiments to estimate local opportunity costs (n = 453) which we annualized using a range of conservative assumptions concerning discount rates. Detailed surveys covering farm inputs and outputs as well as off-farm income (n = 102) allowed us to explore these opportunity costs as a proportion of local incomes. Intensive review of publically available documents provided estimates of the number of households that received safeguard compensation and the amount spent per household. We carried out a contingent valuation exercise with beneficiaries of this compensation two years after the micro-development projects were implemented (n = 62) to estimate their value as perceived by beneficiaries. Results:Conservation restrictions result in very significant costs to forest communities. The median net present value of the opportunity cost across households in all sites was US$2,375. When annualized, these costs represent 27-84% of total annual income for median-income households; significantly higher proportionally for poorer households. Although some households have received compensation, we conservatively estimate that more than 50% of eligible households (3,020 households) have not. Given the magnitude of compensation (based both on amount spent and valuation by recipients two years after the compensation was distributed) relative to costs, we argue that no one was fully compensated. Achieving full compensation will require an order of magnitude more than was spent but we suggest that this should be affordable given the global value of forest conservation. Discussion:By analyzing in unprecedented depth both the local costs of conservation, and the compensation distributed under donor policies, we demonstrate that despite well-intentioned policies, some of the poorest people on the planet are still bearing the cost of forest conservation. Unless significant extra funding is provided by the global beneficiaries of conservation, donors' social safeguarding requirements will not be met, and forest conservation in developing countries will jeopardize, rather than contribute to, sustainable development goals.

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Evaluating heterogeneous conservation effects of forest protection in Indonesia.

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Evaluating heterogeneous conservation effects of forest protection in Indonesia.

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