Valuation of consumption and sale of forest goods from a Central American rain forest

Abstract

Researchers recognize that society needs accurate and comprehensive estimates of the economic value of rain forests to assess conservation and management options. Valuation of forests can help us to decide whether to implement policies that reconcile the value different groups attach to forests. Here we have measured the value of the rain forest to local populations by monitoring the foods, construction and craft materials, and medicines consumed or sold from the forest by 32 Indian households in two villages in Honduras over 2.5 years. We have directly measured the detailed, comprehensive consumption patterns of rain forest products by an indigenous population and the value of that consumption in local markets. The combined value of consumption and sale of forest goods ranged from US$17.79 to US$23.72 per hectare per year, at the lower end of previous estimates (between US$49 and US$1,089 (mean US$347) per hectare per year). Although outsiders value the rain forest for its high-use and non-use values, local people receive a small share of the total value. Unless rural people are paid for the non-local values of rain forests, they may be easily persuaded to deforest.

The Use of Woodland Products to Cope with Climate Variability in Communal Areas in Zimbabwe

“…Products from common lands vary between environments, whereas extraction rates are closely related to social differentiation within communities, the state of the resource, and the household situation (Cavendish 2000). Purely economic valuations indicate that the direct monetary value of goods extracted from rain forests would not justify the preservation of the forest unless local people would receive incentives (Godoy et al 2000). However, the valuation of forests is a dynamic concept among and within communities (Kepe 2008).…”

Estimating the impacts of conservation on ecosystem services and poverty by integrating modeling and evaluation

“…T o inform decision makers about how they can best allocate resources to maintain and enhance ecosystem services, scholars need to develop a better understanding of how policy interventions actually affect the supply of ecosystem services. In the last two decades, scholars have made important advances in defining, measuring, and valuing ecosystem services across time and space (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7). These measures and values have in turn been used as conservation planning and resource management decision tools (8)(9)(10)(11).…”

Forest Use and Agriculture in Ucayali, Peruvian Amazon: Interactions Among Livelihood Strategies, Income and Environmental Outcomes

“…Contrasting with the high estimates of potential extractive value of forest products (eg. Pearce 2001;Peters et al 1989), low economic returns per unit of land area have been found in the Peruvian Amazon (Gavin and Anderson 2007;Pinedo-Vasquez et al 1992) and elsewhere (Godoy et al 2000). Contrasting with most Amazon studies focusing on non-timber products, Amacher et al (2009) approached frontier farmers＇ livelihoods through models examining decisions regarding timber harvest and sale, while others have focused their analyses on charcoal production (Coomes and Burt 2001;Labarta et al 2008).…”

“…Yet, inconsistencies have been noted in the literature when comparing data on natural resource harvests obtained from survey questionnaires with that collected through direct methods (such as Godoy et al 2000) and personal diaries (Gram 2001;Menton et al 2010), and one needs to be cautious with policy and development outcomes derived from the interpretation of such data. Recognizing such caveats, in 2007 the Network for the Study of Livelihoods and Environment in the Amazon (RAVA) adopted a standard methodology and strived to enforce accuracy and comparability in assessing the role of forest products across smallholder communities in the Amazon.…”