The impact of buffer zone size and management on illegal extraction, park protection, and enforcement
Reader in Environmental Economics, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, United Kingdom; FES/Applied Economics, Oregon State University, Richardson Hall 321, Corvallis, OR 97331, United States; Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, United States; Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg, Sweden; Environment for Development Tanzania, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Robinson, E.J.Z., Reader in Environmental Economics, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, United Kingdom, Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, Environment for Development Tanzania, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Albers, H.J., FES/Applied Economics, Oregon State University, Richardson Hall 321, Corvallis, OR 97331, United States, Environment for Development Tanzania, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Busby, G.M., Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, United States
Many protected areas or parks in developing countries have buffer zones at their boundaries to achieve the dual goals of protecting park resources and providing resource benefits to neighbouring people. Despite the prevalence of these zoning policies, few behavioural models of people's buffer zone use inform the sizing and management of those zones. This paper uses a spatially explicit resource extraction model to examine the impact of buffer zone size and management on extraction by local people, both legal and illegal, and the impact of that extraction on forest quality in the park's core and buffer zone. The results demonstrate trade-offs between the level of enforcement, the size of a buffer zone, and the amount of illegal extraction in the park; and describe implications for "enrichment" of buffer zones and evaluating patterns of forest degradation. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.