Biodiversity in the Balance Land Use, National Development and Global Welfare

About this book

&i;`No-one combines the practical experience with analytical expertise in biodiversity conservation better than Raffaello Cervigni. He has worked at so many levels on this problem - local, national and global. This volume demonstrates the manner in which real world experience can inform the better understanding of biodiversity problem solving. I consider it essential reading for all academics and policymakers interested in the economic nature of the solution to this problem.'&o; Timothy M. Swanson University College, London

Contents

Part 1 Introduction: biodiversity conservation and loss - the background - the biodiversity problem, defining diversity and loss, biodiversity and human well-being, economic activity and biodiversity loss, summary. Part 2 Theoretical issues: land use change, biodiversity loss and economic analysis - land conversion and biodiversity loss, a conceptual framework for addressing the problem of land conversion, interventions to alter the incentives to land conversion, conclusion - analyzing land use change in theory and in practice; financing conservation - theoretical aspects - biodiversity conservation and incremental cost - a simple model, some results using particular functional forms, conclusions. Part 3 biodiversity loss and conservation in practice - a case study in Mexico: the area - Sierra de Santa Marta, Veracruz, Mexico - location and physical description, biodiversity relevance, the socio-economic environment; the process of land use change - modelling farm behaviour - the past - historical overview of the process of land use change, the present, prospects for the future - modelling farm-level decisions; predicting land use changes and designing conservation policies in the study area - a model for aggregating farm-level decisions over space and time, results, policy implications, conclusions.

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