Cost-Effectiveness of Dryland Forest Restoration Evaluated by Spatial Analysis of Ecosystem Services

Cost-Effectiveness of Dryland Forest Restoration Evaluated by Spatial Analysis of Ecosystem Services

background

This study evaluates the cost-effectiveness of dryland forest restoration through a comparative analysis of four study areas in Latin America.

Research Goals & Methods

The authors model multiple ecosystem services to estimate costs and benefits of restoring dryland forests under a range of economic valuation conditions.

Conclusions & Takeaways

The study concludes that passive forest restoration has a positive net social benefit (NSB) as opposed to active restoration which was not cost-effective and has a negative NSB.

 

Reference: 

Birch JC, Newton AC, Aquino CA, et al. Cost-effectiveness of dryland forest restoration evaluated by spatial analysis of ecosystem services. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2010;107:21925–21930. doi:10.1073/pnas.1003369107.

Affiliation: 

  • Centre for Conservation Ecology and Environmental Change, Bournemouth University, Poole, United Kingdom
  • Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
  • Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
  • Laboratorio Ecotono Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medio Ambiente Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas, Bariloche, Argentina
  • Departamento de Economía, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile