Buying Conservation : Financial Incentives for Tropical Forest Conservation in the Ecuadorian Amazon
Popular Abstract in English The conservation of forests is receiving increasing international attention. News reports of rampant deforestation for oil palm plantations in Indonesia or soy and cattle ranching in Brazil are the visible images that many of us know. Combating the loss of forests and mitigating climate change through the prevention of further carbon emissions to the atmosphere are promMarket-based instruments have become a widely used approach to motivate landowners to conserve forests instead of clearing them. However, such market-based instruments are increasingly criticized for their simplistic view on complex environmental, social and economic issues; for their ethical stance; and for creating exchange value for essential ecosystems services, which potentially perpetuates a
