conservation

High external debt levels worldwide have forced ecologically-rich nations to exploit their natural resources to generate revenue. Debt-for-nature swaps offer a promising solution to this problem, but remain challenging to implement in practice.

Infrastructure expansion into forests substantially degrades biodiversity. Yet, institutions that centre the voices of forest-dependent communities during project planning can help mitigate species loss.

How does the loss of biodiversity impact economies and human well-being?

Paying landowners to conserve their forested land is a leading approach to prevent deforestation. Evidence from Mexico shows that smarter contract design can more than quadruple cost-effectiveness.

Despite fears that devolving control over forest resources to local communities may accelerate deforestation and worsen the climate crisis, the large-scale transfer of political power to India’s historically marginalised Scheduled Tribes significantl...

The National Greening Program, a large-scale tree planting programme in the Philippines, not only contributes to carbon sequestration but also promotes poverty reduction and job creation.

How should policymakers design environmental markets when they might attract participants who were planning to conserve the environment regardless of the market?

Traditional trade agreements cause deforestation in the tropics. But if tariffs are contingent on the forest cover, trade can motivate conservation.

What have we learned about the economics of conservation? How can policymakers encourage conservation in low-income settings?