Effects of disputes and easement violations on the cost-effectiveness of land conservation
Conservation initiatives to protect and restore valued species communities in human-dominated landscapes face challenges linked to their potential costs. Conservation easements on private land may represent a cost-effective alternative to land purchase, but long-term costs to monitor and enforce eas...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2015-08-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/1185.pdf |
| _version_ | 1827606593789755392 |
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| author | Richard Schuster Peter Arcese |
| author_facet | Richard Schuster Peter Arcese |
| author_sort | Richard Schuster |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Conservation initiatives to protect and restore valued species communities in human-dominated landscapes face challenges linked to their potential costs. Conservation easements on private land may represent a cost-effective alternative to land purchase, but long-term costs to monitor and enforce easements, or defend legal challenges, remain uncertain. We explored the cost-effectiveness of conservation easements, defined here as the fraction of the high-biodiversity landscape potentially protected via investment in easements versus land purchase. We show that easement violation and dispute rates substantially affect the estimated long-term cost-effectiveness of an easement versus land purchase strategy. Our results suggest that conservation easements can outperform land purchase as a strategy to protect biodiversity as long as the rate of disputes and legal challenges is low, pointing to a critical need for monitoring data to reduce costs and maximize the value of conservation investments. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:39:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ca1de6c620b34956a57165bae9ccb6c1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:39:38Z |
| publishDate | 2015-08-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-ca1de6c620b34956a57165bae9ccb6c12023-12-03T10:53:03ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592015-08-013e118510.7717/peerj.1185Effects of disputes and easement violations on the cost-effectiveness of land conservationRichard Schuster0Peter Arcese1Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver British Columbia, CanadaDepartment of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver British Columbia, CanadaConservation initiatives to protect and restore valued species communities in human-dominated landscapes face challenges linked to their potential costs. Conservation easements on private land may represent a cost-effective alternative to land purchase, but long-term costs to monitor and enforce easements, or defend legal challenges, remain uncertain. We explored the cost-effectiveness of conservation easements, defined here as the fraction of the high-biodiversity landscape potentially protected via investment in easements versus land purchase. We show that easement violation and dispute rates substantially affect the estimated long-term cost-effectiveness of an easement versus land purchase strategy. Our results suggest that conservation easements can outperform land purchase as a strategy to protect biodiversity as long as the rate of disputes and legal challenges is low, pointing to a critical need for monitoring data to reduce costs and maximize the value of conservation investments.https://peerj.com/articles/1185.pdfBiodiversity conservationConservation covenantEcosystem servicesLandscape prioritizationConservation easementEasement violations |
| spellingShingle | Richard Schuster Peter Arcese Effects of disputes and easement violations on the cost-effectiveness of land conservation PeerJ Biodiversity conservation Conservation covenant Ecosystem services Landscape prioritization Conservation easement Easement violations |
| title | Effects of disputes and easement violations on the cost-effectiveness of land conservation |
| title_full | Effects of disputes and easement violations on the cost-effectiveness of land conservation |
| title_fullStr | Effects of disputes and easement violations on the cost-effectiveness of land conservation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of disputes and easement violations on the cost-effectiveness of land conservation |
| title_short | Effects of disputes and easement violations on the cost-effectiveness of land conservation |
| title_sort | effects of disputes and easement violations on the cost effectiveness of land conservation |
| topic | Biodiversity conservation Conservation covenant Ecosystem services Landscape prioritization Conservation easement Easement violations |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/1185.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT richardschuster effectsofdisputesandeasementviolationsonthecosteffectivenessoflandconservation AT peterarcese effectsofdisputesandeasementviolationsonthecosteffectivenessoflandconservation |