The role of protected areas and land tenure regimes on forest loss in Bolivia: Accounting for spatial spillovers

Boillat, Sébastien-Pierre; Ceddia, M. Graziano; Bottazzi, Patrick (2022). The role of protected areas and land tenure regimes on forest loss in Bolivia: Accounting for spatial spillovers Global Environmental Change, 76, p. 102571. Elsevier 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2022.102571

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The conversion of tropical forests to croplands and grasslands is a major threat to global biodiversity, climate and local livelihoods and ecosystems. The enforcement of protected areas as well as the clarification and strengthening of collective and individual land property rights are key instruments to curb deforestation in the tropics. However, these instruments are territorial and can displace forest loss elsewhere. We investigate the effects of protected areas and various land tenure regimes on deforestation and possible spillover effects in Bolivia, a global tropical deforestation hotspot. We use a spatial Durbin model to assess and compare the direct and indirect effects of protected areas and different land tenure forms on forest loss in Bolivia from 2010 to 2017. We find that protected areas have a strong direct effect on reducing deforestation. Protected areas - which in Bolivia are all based on co-management schemes - also protect forests in adjacent areas, showing an indirect protective spillover effect. Indigenous lands however only have direct forest protection effects. Non-indigenous collective lands and small private lands, which are associated to Andean settlers, as well as non-titled lands, show a strong positive direct effect on deforestation. At the same time, there is some evidence that non-indigenous collective lands also encourage deforestation in adjacent areas, indicating the existence of spillovers. Interestingly, areas with high poverty rate tend to be less affected by deforestation whatever tenure form. Our study stresses the need to assess more systematically the direct and indirect effects of land tenure and of territorial governance instruments on land use changes.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL > Multifunctional Forest Management School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL > HAFL Hugo P. Cecchini Institute School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL > Multifunctional Forest Management > Forest Policy and International Forest Management
Name:	Boillat, Sébastien-Pierre0000-0002-8035-6335; Ceddia, M. Graziano and Bottazzi, Patrick
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GF Human ecology. Anthropogeography Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology S Agriculture > SD Forestry
ISSN:	0959-3780
Publisher:	Elsevier
Funders:	[7] Swiss National Science Foundation ; [UNSPECIFIED] European Research Council ; [UNSPECIFIED] Swiss Network for International Studies
Projects:	[UNSPECIFIED] AGROWORK [UNSPECIFIED] BOLAO: a multi-scale approach to land governance in complex cultural, environmental and institutional contexts in Bolivia and the Lao PDR [UNSPECIFIED] Global Land Programme
Language:	English
Submitter:	Sébastien-Pierre Boillat
Date Deposited:	07 Sep 2022 09:25
Last Modified:	07 Sep 2022 09:25
Publisher DOI:	10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2022.102571
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Deforestation, Protected areas, Property rights, Indigenous lands, Spillover, Bolivia
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.17625
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/17625