The Economics of Biodiversity Conservation Valuation in Tropical Forest Ecosystems

Economic valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services is possibly the most powerful tool for halting the loss of biodiversity while maintaining incomes and livelihoods. Yet rarely have such approaches been applied to tropical forest 'hotspots', which house the vast majority of the planets plant and animal species. This ground-breaking work is the most comprehensive and detailed examination of the economics of environmental valuation and biodiversity conservation to date.

Focusing on the Western Ghats of India, one of the top biodiversity hotspots in the world, this volume looks at a cross-section of local communities living within or near sanctuaries and reserve forests such as coffee growers, indigenous people and farmers-cum-pastoralists to assess the use and non-use values that people derive from tropical forests. It also looks at the extent of their dependence on forests for various goods and services, and examines their perceptions and attitudes towards biodiversity conservation and wildlife protection. The book concludes with an assessment of the institutional alternatives and policies for promoting biodiversity conservation through economic valuation methods.

Introduction 1. Land Use and Crop Pattern Changes, Pressure on Natural Resources and Status of Biodiversity in Selected Regions 2. The Context of a Coffee Growing Village 3. The Context of Tribal Villages Located within and near a National Park 4. The Context of Agricultural-cum-pastoral Villages Located within and near a Wildlife Sanctuary 5. Conclusions and Policy Recommendations

K. N. Ninan is Professor of Ecological Economics at the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, India. Earlier he was Visiting Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Tokyo, Japan. Dr Ninan has also been a Visiting Professor/Fellow at the Institute for Developing Economies, Tokyo, Japan; Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, United Kindom; University of Versailles, France; Maison des Sciences de L'Homme,Paris; and University of Tokushima, Japan.