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Sonephet S, Kounnavong S, Zinsstag L, Vonaesch P, Sayasone S, Siengsounthone L, Odermatt P, Fink G, Wallenborn JT. Social Transfers for Exclusive Breastfeeding (STEB) Intervention in Lao People's Democratic Republic: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc 2024; 13:e54768. [PMID: 38700928 PMCID: PMC11102031 DOI: 10.2196/54768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Children in Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) receive suboptimal nutrition because of low breastfeeding rates, undermining their developmental potential. While major public health campaigns have attempted to increase breastfeeding rates, they have been largely unsuccessful. One explanation for these unsuccessful interventions is the economic and financial constraints faced by mothers. A potential solution for alleviating these pressures is providing social transfers to support breastfeeding; defined as a cash or in-kind transfer. Capitalizing on key strategies used in previous social transfer programs, we will assess the effectiveness of social transfer intervention for increasing exclusive breastfeeding rates in Vientiane, Lao PDR. OBJECTIVE This study aims to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) designed to assess whether social transfers can increase exclusive breastfeeding rates in Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR. METHODS A prospective, parallel cluster-RCT was conducted among 300 mothers who recently gave birth and initiated breastfeeding. Enrolling 100 participants for each intervention arm provided us with 80% power to detect an increase in exclusive breastfeeding from the anticipated 21% in the control arm to 40% in either of the 2 intervention arms. Mother-infant dyads were enrolled at approximately 1 month post partum. Follow-up visits will occur at 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years post partum; with the ambition to extend the follow-up period. Mother-infant dyads were enrolled between August 2022 and April 2023 with follow-up until 3 years post partum (2026). A local study team comprised of 2 nurses and 2 laboratory technicians is responsible for enrollment and follow-up of participants. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups during the baseline, 1-month visit: (1) control group, no social transfer; (2) intervention group 1, an unconditional social transfer at 6 months post partum; and (3) intervention group 2, a social transfer at 6 months post partum conditional upon mothers exclusively breastfeeding. All groups received educational materials supporting mothers to exclusively breastfeed. The primary end point will be exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months post partum. Secondary end points will include exclusive and complementary breastfeeding duration, childhood wasting and stunting, child growth, maternal and infant stress, predictors of early breastfeeding cessation, intestinal inflammation, anemia, maternal weight loss, maternal blood pressure, maternal anxiety, and GRIT personality score. Questionnaires and physical examinations were used to collect information. RESULTS As of November 2023, the study has enrolled 300 participants. Study participation is ongoing until December 2026 at minimum. Over the study lifetime, 93% have completed all visits. CONCLUSIONS We see potential for a long-term program that may be implemented in other low- or lower-middle-income countries with only minor modifications. The RCT will be used as a basis for observational studies and to investigate the impact of human milk on child fecal microbiota and growth. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05665049; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05665049. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/54768.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sengchanh Kounnavong
- Lao Tropical and Public Health Institute, Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic
| | - Lucienne Zinsstag
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Allschwil, Switzerland
| | - Pascale Vonaesch
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Somphou Sayasone
- Lao Tropical and Public Health Institute, Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic
| | | | - Peter Odermatt
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Allschwil, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Günther Fink
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Allschwil, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jordyn Tinka Wallenborn
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Allschwil, Switzerland
- University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
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Kumeh EM, Ramcilovic-Suominen S. Is the EU shirking responsibility for its deforestation footprint in tropical countries? Power, material, and epistemic inequalities in the EU's global environmental governance. SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE 2023; 18:599-616. [PMID: 36845358 PMCID: PMC9938692 DOI: 10.1007/s11625-023-01302-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
This paper critically examines the European Union's (EU) role in tropical deforestation and the bloc's actions to mitigate it. We focus on two EU policy communications aimed at the challenge: stepping up EU action to protect and restore the world's forests and the EU updated bioeconomy strategy. In addition, we refer to the European Green Deal, which articulates the bloc's overarching vision for sustainability and transformations. We find that by casting deforestation as a production problem and a governance challenge on the supply side, these policies deflect attention from some of the key drivers of tropical deforestation-the EU's overconsumption of deforestation-related commodities and asymmetric market and trade power relations. The diversion allows the EU unfettered access to agro-commodities and biofuels, which are important inputs to the EU's green transition and bio-based economy. Upholding a 'sustainability image' within the EU, an overly business-as-usual approach has taken precedence over transformative policies, enabling multinational corporations to run an ecocide treadmill, rapidly obliterating tropical forests. Whereas the EU's plan to nurture a bioeconomy and promote responsible agro-commodities production in the global South are relevant, the bloc is evasive in setting firm targets and policy measures to overcome the inequalities that spring from and enable its overconsumption of deforestation-related commodities. Drawing on degrowth and decolonial theories, we problematise the EU's anti-deforestation policies and highlight alternative ideas that could lead to more just, equitable and effective measures for confronting the tropical deforestation conundrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Mensah Kumeh
- Bioeconomy and Environment Unit, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Itäinen Pitkäkatu 4 A, 20520 Turku, Finland
- Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Sabaheta Ramcilovic-Suominen
- Bioeconomy and Environment Unit, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Itäinen Pitkäkatu 4 A, 20520 Turku, Finland
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Gordon Jones JP, Barnes M, Eklund J, Ferraro PJ, Geldmann J, Oldekop JA, Schleicher J. Quantifying uncertainty about how interventions are assigned would improve impact evaluation in conservation: reply to Rasolofoson 2022. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2022; 36:e14007. [PMID: 36178010 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Megan Barnes
- Centre for Environment and Economic Policy, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Johanna Eklund
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Paul J Ferraro
- Carey Business School and Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, a joint department of the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Jonas Geldmann
- Centre for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Johan A Oldekop
- Global Development Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
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Meyfroidt P, de Bremond A, Ryan CM, Archer E, Aspinall R, Chhabra A, Camara G, Corbera E, DeFries R, Díaz S, Dong J, Ellis EC, Erb KH, Fisher JA, Garrett RD, Golubiewski NE, Grau HR, Grove JM, Haberl H, Heinimann A, Hostert P, Jobbágy EG, Kerr S, Kuemmerle T, Lambin EF, Lavorel S, Lele S, Mertz O, Messerli P, Metternicht G, Munroe DK, Nagendra H, Nielsen JØ, Ojima DS, Parker DC, Pascual U, Porter JR, Ramankutty N, Reenberg A, Roy Chowdhury R, Seto KC, Seufert V, Shibata H, Thomson A, Turner BL, Urabe J, Veldkamp T, Verburg PH, Zeleke G, Zu Ermgassen EKHJ. Ten facts about land systems for sustainability. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2109217118. [PMID: 35131937 PMCID: PMC8851509 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2109217118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Land use is central to addressing sustainability issues, including biodiversity conservation, climate change, food security, poverty alleviation, and sustainable energy. In this paper, we synthesize knowledge accumulated in land system science, the integrated study of terrestrial social-ecological systems, into 10 hard truths that have strong, general, empirical support. These facts help to explain the challenges of achieving sustainability in land use and thus also point toward solutions. The 10 facts are as follows: 1) Meanings and values of land are socially constructed and contested; 2) land systems exhibit complex behaviors with abrupt, hard-to-predict changes; 3) irreversible changes and path dependence are common features of land systems; 4) some land uses have a small footprint but very large impacts; 5) drivers and impacts of land-use change are globally interconnected and spill over to distant locations; 6) humanity lives on a used planet where all land provides benefits to societies; 7) land-use change usually entails trade-offs between different benefits-"win-wins" are thus rare; 8) land tenure and land-use claims are often unclear, overlapping, and contested; 9) the benefits and burdens from land are unequally distributed; and 10) land users have multiple, sometimes conflicting, ideas of what social and environmental justice entails. The facts have implications for governance, but do not provide fixed answers. Instead they constitute a set of core principles which can guide scientists, policy makers, and practitioners toward meeting sustainability challenges in land use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Meyfroidt
- Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium;
- Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique F.R.S.-FNRS, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Ariane de Bremond
- Centre for Environment and Development, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;
- Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
| | - Casey M Ryan
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, United Kingdom;
| | - Emma Archer
- Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
| | - Richard Aspinall
- Independent Scholar, James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen AB15 8QH, Scotland
| | - Abha Chhabra
- Space Applications Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, Ahmedabad 380015, India
| | - Gilberto Camara
- Earth Observation Directorate, National Institute for Space Research, São José dos Campos, SP 12227-010, Brazil
| | - Esteve Corbera
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
- Department of Geography, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona 08010, Spain
| | - Ruth DeFries
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
| | - Sandra Díaz
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas and Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, X5000HUA Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Jinwei Dong
- Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Erle C Ellis
- Department of Geography and Environmental Systems, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250
| | - Karl-Heinz Erb
- Institute of Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, 1070 Vienna, Austria
| | - Janet A Fisher
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, United Kingdom
| | | | - Nancy E Golubiewski
- Joint Evidence, Data, and Insights Division, Ministry for the Environment, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
| | - H Ricardo Grau
- Instituto de Ecología Regional, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Yerba Buena, Tucumán 4107, Argentina
| | - J Morgan Grove
- Baltimore Urban Field Station, USDA Forest Service, Baltimore, MD 21228
| | - Helmut Haberl
- Institute of Social Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, 1070 Vienna, Austria
| | - Andreas Heinimann
- Wyss Academy for Nature at the University of Bern, 3011 Bern, Switzerland
- Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Patrick Hostert
- Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
- Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
| | - Esteban G Jobbágy
- Grupo de Estudios Ambientales, Instituto de Matemática Aplicada de San Luis, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, 5700 San Luis, Argentina
| | - Suzi Kerr
- Economics and Global Climate Cooperation, Environmental Defense Fund, New York, NY 10010
| | - Tobias Kuemmerle
- Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
- Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
| | - Eric F Lambin
- Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Sandra Lavorel
- Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, CNRS, Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Savoie Mont-Blanc, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Sharachandra Lele
- Centre for Environment & Development, ATREE, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560064, India
- Indian Institute of Science Education & Research, Pune 411008, India
| | - Ole Mertz
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark
| | - Peter Messerli
- Wyss Academy for Nature at the University of Bern, 3011 Bern, Switzerland
- Institute of Geography, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Graciela Metternicht
- Earth and Sustainability Science Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Darla K Munroe
- Department of Geography, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43202
| | - Harini Nagendra
- School of Development, Azim Premji University 562125 Karnataka, India
| | - Jonas Østergaard Nielsen
- Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
- Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
| | - Dennis S Ojima
- Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
- Ecosystem Science and Sustainability Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Dawn Cassandra Parker
- School of Planning, Faculty of the Environment, Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3G1
| | - Unai Pascual
- Centre for Environment and Development, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
- Basque Centre for Climate Change, BC3 48940 Leioa, Bizkaia, Spain
- Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48009 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain
| | - John R Porter
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2630 Taastrup, Denmark
| | - Navin Ramankutty
- Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4
| | - Anette Reenberg
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark
| | | | - Karen C Seto
- Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511
| | - Verena Seufert
- Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Sustainable Use of Natural Resources (430c), Institute of Social Sciences in Agriculture, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Hideaki Shibata
- Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, 060-0809 Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Allison Thomson
- Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, Washington, DC 20002
| | - Billie L Turner
- School of Geographical Science and Urban Planning, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281
- School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281
- Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281
| | - Jotaro Urabe
- Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578, Japan
| | - Tom Veldkamp
- Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, Enschede 7522 NB, The Netherlands
| | - Peter H Verburg
- Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Gete Zeleke
- Water and Land Resource Centre, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Erasmus K H J Zu Ermgassen
- Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique F.R.S.-FNRS, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
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Blanco E, Baier A, Holzmeister F, Jaber-Lopez T, Struwe N. Substitution of social sustainability concerns under the Covid-19 pandemic. ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS : THE JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS 2022; 192:107259. [PMID: 34720412 PMCID: PMC8548029 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Think tanks and political leaders have raised concerns about the implications that the Covid-19 response and reconstruction might have on other social objectives that were setting the international agenda before the Covid-19 pandemic. We present evidence for eight consecutive weeks during April-May 2020 for Austria, testing the extent to which Covid-19 concerns substitute other social concerns such as the climate crisis or the protection of vulnerable sectors of the society. We measure behavior in a simple donation task where participants receive €3 that they can distribute between themselves and a list of charitable organizations, which vary between treatments. We consider initially a list of eight charities, including a broad set of social concerns. Results show that introducing the WHO Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund significantly reduces the sum of donations to the original eight charities. This derives from two effects: First, introducing the Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund does not significantly change aggregate donations. Second, results point to a high support to the WHO Covid-19 Fund. Overall, our results indicate that donations to diverse social concerns are partially substituted by donations to the Covid-19 fund; yet, this substitution does not fully replace all other social concerns. Results are robust to a 10-fold increase in endowment, with decisions made over €30.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Tarek Jaber-Lopez
- Economix, Université Paris Lumière, Univ Paris Nanterre, Centre National Recherche Scientifique, Nanterre, France
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Carbon emissions reductions from Indonesia's moratorium on forest concessions are cost-effective yet contribute little to Paris pledges. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:2102613119. [PMID: 35074869 PMCID: PMC8812685 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2102613119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
International initiatives for reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) could make critical, cost-effective contributions to tropical countries' nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Norway, a key donor of such initiatives, had a REDD+ partnership with Indonesia, offering results-based payments in exchange for emissions reductions calculated against a historical baseline. Central to this partnership was an area-based moratorium on new oil palm, timber, and logging concessions in primary and peatland forests. We evaluate the effectiveness of the moratorium between 2011 and 2018 by applying a matched triple difference strategy to a unique panel dataset. Treated dryland forest inside moratorium areas retained, at most, an average of 0.65% higher forest cover compared to untreated dryland forest outside the moratorium. By contrast, carbon-rich peatland forest was unaffected by the moratorium. Cumulative avoided dryland deforestation from 2011 until 2018 translates into 67.8 million to 86.9 million tons of emissions reductions, implying an effective carbon price below Norway's US$5 per ton price. Based on Norway's price, our estimated cumulative emissions reductions are equivalent to a payment of US$339 million to US$434.5 million. Annually, our estimates suggest a 3 to 4% contribution to Indonesia's NDC commitment of a 29% emissions reduction by 2030. Despite the Indonesia-Norway partnership ending in 2021, reducing emissions from deforestation remains critical for meeting this commitment. Future area-based REDD+ initiatives could build on the moratorium's outcomes by reforming its incentives and institutional arrangements, particularly in peatland forest areas.
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Mialon HM, Klumpp T, Williams MA. International trade and the survival of mammalian and reptilian species. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabh3442. [PMID: 34995106 PMCID: PMC8741183 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abh3442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) bans international trade in species threatened with extinction. We investigate the effects of these bans on species’ endangerment, as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Our analysis exploits changes in CITES bans between 1979 and 2017. We find that CITES bans lead to subsequent improvements in mammalian species’ IUCN status, relative to species in which trade was not banned. These effects are primarily due to improvements in the status of commercially targeted species. On the other hand, CITES bans lead to deteriorations in reptilian species’ IUCN status. We find that major spikes in trade volume occurred in anticipation of the bans on reptilian species but not in anticipation of those on mammalian species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugo M. Mialon
- Department of Economics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Tilman Klumpp
- Department of Economics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Michael A. Williams
- Berkeley Research Group, Emeryville, CA, USA
- Competition Economics LLC, Emeryville, CA, USA
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No aggregate deforestation reductions from rollout of community land titles in Indonesia yet. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2100741118. [PMID: 34663723 PMCID: PMC8639361 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2100741118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In Indonesia, 60 million people live within 1 km of state forest. The government of Indonesia plans to grant community titles for 12.7 million hectares of land to communities living in and around forests. These titles allow for using nontimber forest products, practicing agroforestry, operating tourism businesses, and selective logging in designated production zones. Here, we estimate the early effects of the program’s rollout. We use data on the delineation and introduction date of community forest titles on 2.4 million hectares of land across the country. We find that, contrary to the objective of the program, community titles aimed at conservation did not decrease deforestation; if anything, they tended to increase forest loss. In contrast, community titles in zones aimed at timber production decreased deforestation, albeit from higher baseline forest loss rates.
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Kimmel K, Dee LE, Avolio ML, Ferraro PJ. Causal assumptions and causal inference in ecological experiments. Trends Ecol Evol 2021; 36:1141-1152. [PMID: 34538502 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Revised: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Causal inferences from experimental data are often justified based on treatment randomization. However, inferring causality from data also requires complementary causal assumptions, which have been formalized by scholars of causality but not widely discussed in ecology. While ecologists have recognized challenges to inferring causal relationships in experiments and developed solutions, they lack a general framework to identify and address them. We review four assumptions required to infer causality from experiments and provide design-based and statistically based solutions for when these assumptions are violated. We conclude that there is no clear demarcation between experimental and non-experimental designs. This insight can help ecologists design better experiments and remove barriers between experimental and observational scholarship in ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaitlin Kimmel
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Laura E Dee
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA.
| | - Meghan L Avolio
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Paul J Ferraro
- Carey Business School, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, a joint department of the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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What Drives Household Deforestation Decisions? Insights from the Ecuadorian Lowland Rainforests. FORESTS 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/f11111131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Tropical forests, and more concretely, the Amazon Basin and the Chocó-Darién, are highly affected by deforestation activities. Households are the main land-use decision-makers and are key agents for forest conservation and deforestation. Understanding the determinants of deforestation at the household level is critical for conservation policies and sustainable development. We explore the drivers of household deforestation decisions, focusing on the quality of the forest resources (timber volume potential) and the institutional environment (conservation strategies, titling, and governmental grants). Both aspects are hypothesized to influence deforestation, but there is little empirical evidence. We address the following questions: (i) Does timber availability attract more deforestation? (ii) Do conservation strategies (incentive-based programs in the Central Amazon and protected areas in the Chocó-Darién) influence deforestation decisions in household located outside the areas under conservation? (iii) Does the absence of titling increase the odds of a household to deforest? (iv) Can governmental grants for poverty alleviation help in the fight against deforestation? We estimated a logit model, where the dependent variable reflects whether or not a household cleared forest within the farm. As predictors, we included the above variables and controlled by household-specific characteristics. This study was conducted in the Central Amazon and the Chocó-Darién of Ecuador, two major deforestation fronts in the country. We found that timber volume potential is associated with a higher odds of deforesting in the Central Amazon, but with a lower odds in the Chocó-Darién. Although conservation strategies can influence household decisions, the effects are context-dependent. Households near the incentive-based program (Central Amazon) have a lower odds of deforesting, whereas households near a protected area (Chocó-Darién) showed the opposite effect. Titling is also important for deforestation reduction; more attention is needed in the Chocó-Darién where numerous households are living in untitled lands. Finally, governmental grants for poverty alleviation showed the potential to generate positive environmental outcomes.
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McElwee P, Turnout E, Chiroleu-Assouline M, Clapp J, Isenhour C, Jackson T, Kelemen E, Miller DC, Rusch G, Spangenberg JH, Waldron A, Baumgartner RJ, Bleys B, Howard MW, Mungatana E, Ngo H, Ring I, Santos R. Ensuring a Post-COVID Economic Agenda Tackles Global Biodiversity Loss. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 3:448-461. [PMID: 34173540 PMCID: PMC7526599 DOI: 10.1016/j.oneear.2020.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused dramatic and unprecedented impacts on both global health and economies. Many governments are now proposing recovery packages to get back to normal, but the 2019 Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Global Assessment indicated that business as usual has created widespread ecosystem degradation. Therefore, a post-COVID world needs to tackle the economic drivers that create ecological disruptions. In this perspective, we discuss a number of tools across a range of actors for both short-term stimulus measures and longer-term revamping of global, national, and local economies that take biodiversity into account. These include measures to shift away from activities that damage biodiversity and toward those supporting ecosystem resilience, including through incentives, regulations, fiscal policy, and employment programs. By treating the crisis as an opportunity to reset the global economy, we have a chance to reverse decades of biodiversity and ecosystem losses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela McElwee
- Department of Human Ecology, Rutgers University, 55 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08840, USA
| | - Esther Turnout
- Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group, Wageningen University, Droevendalsesteeg 3, Wageningen 6708 PB, the Netherlands
| | | | - Jennifer Clapp
- School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Cindy Isenhour
- Department of Anthropology & Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, 5773 South Stevens Hall, Orono, ME 04469, USA
| | - Tim Jackson
- Center for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, UK
| | - Eszter Kelemen
- Environmental Social Science Research Group (ESSRG), Ferenciek Tere 2, Budapest 1053, Hungary.,Institute for Sociology, Centre for Social Sciences, Tóth Kálmán Utca 4, Budapest 1097, Hungary
| | - Daniel C Miller
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1102 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Graciela Rusch
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Høgskoleringen 9, Trondheim 7034, Norway
| | - Joachim H Spangenberg
- Sustainable Europe Research Institute (SERI) Germany, Vorsterstrasse 97-99, Köln 51103, Germany
| | - Anthony Waldron
- Cambridge Conservation Initiative, Cambridge University, The David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
| | - Rupert J Baumgartner
- Institute of Systems Sciences, Innovation and Sustainability Research, University of Graz, Merangasse 18/I, Graz 8010, Austria
| | - Brent Bleys
- Department of Economics, Ghent University, Tweekerkenstraat 2, Ghent 9000, Belgium
| | - Michael W Howard
- Department of Philosophy, The University of Maine, 5776 The Maples, Orono, ME 04469, USA
| | - Eric Mungatana
- Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development, University of Pretoria, Private Bag x 20, Hatfield 0028, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Hien Ngo
- IPBES Secretariat, Platz der Vereinten Nationen 1, Bonn 53113, Germany
| | - Irene Ring
- Technische Universität Dresden, International Institute Zittau, Markt 23, Zittau 02763, Germany
| | - Rui Santos
- Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research (CENSE), NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, Campus de Caparica, Caparica 2829-516, Portugal
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