Stochastic dynamic programming is used to investigate optimal holding of primary tropical forest in humid Costa Rica when future nonuse benefits of forest conservation are uncertain and increasing. The quasi-option value of maintaining primary forests is included as a component of investment in...

The international community considers the possibility of using aid as an instrument to improve natural resource conservation in developing countries. By making the amount of transfers dependent on the efforts of the recipient countries to improve conservation, appropriate incentives can be...

While monitoring the effectiveness of forest conservation programs requires accurate data on (changes in) forest cover, many countries still lack the ability to map local forest inventory, especially in the drylands of Africa where forest areas are very sparsely covered. In this paper, we...

Does financial compensation for providing environmental conservation, improve the food security of the rural poor in the drylands of Sub-Saharan Africa? This paper explores this question using data from a randomized controlled trial of a large scale reforestation implemented by the Government of...