No. 10/2003
Property rights and natural resource conservation. A bio-economic model
with numerical illustrations from the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem.
Anne Borge Johannesen
Anders Skonhoft
Abstract:
This study develops a model for wildlife migrating seasonally between
a conservation area and a neighbouring area. When being outside the conservation
area, harvesting takes place by a group of small-scale farmers. The local
people have two motives for harvesting; to get rid of 'problem' animals
as roaming wildlife destroys crops and agricultural products, and hunting
for meat and trophies. Depending on the specification of the property
rights, the harvesting is legal or illegal. It is demonstrated that it
is far from clear which of the two property rights regimes that gives
the highest wildlife abundance. Hence, contrary to what is argued for
in the literature, handing the property rights over to the local people
means not automatically more wildlife and a more 'sustainable' resource
utilization. The reason lies in the nuisance motive for harvesting. The
exploitation under the two different property rights regimes are illustrated
by numerical calculations with data that fits reasonable well with the
exploitation of the wildebeest population in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem.
|