A model-based approach for designing cost-effective compensation payments for conservation of endangered species in real landscapes

Abstract

Abstract:An approach is present which integrates an economic and an ecological model for designing cost-effective compensation payments for conservation of endangered species in real landscapes. The approach is used to develop a cost-effective compensation payment scheme for conservation of an endangered butterfly species (Maculinea teleius) protected by the EU Habitats Directive in the region of Landau, Germany. The economic model determines the costs of relevant conservation measures -mowing meadows at different times and frequencies -and the ecological model quantifies the effects of these mowing regimes on the butterfly population. By comparing the ecological effects of different mowing regimes, the cost-effective regime and the corresponding payments are determined as a function of the conservation budget. The results of the case study are used to analyse the effect of metapopulation dynamics on the cost-effectiveness of compensation payment schemes, to evaluate an existing scheme in the region of Landau and to draw conclusions for the institutional design of payment schemes.

An agglomeration payment for cost-effective biodiversity conservation in spatially structured landscapes

“…We identify a cost-effective mowing regime for the region by relying on results from Drechsler et al (2005). The authors developed an approach to design a cost-effective payment scheme for the conservation of M. teleius in the case study region we now consider.…”

“…(2a) and (2b) reveals that for species with long-range dispersal efficiency gains are smaller than for species with short-range dispersal. This is plausible given that good dispersers are less dependent on the spatial configuration of habitat than poor dispersers (e.g., Drechsler et al 2005), which means that for good dispersers the connectivity effect is smaller than for poor dispersers.…”

Remembering the Ultimate Goal of Environmental Protection: Including Protection of Impoverished Citizens in China’s Environmental Policy

“…In addition, 77% of China's educational expenditures were devoted to urban residents even though these residents amounted to less than 35% of the total population (Li et al 2008). The Civil Administration Ministry reported that in 2004, only 4.0 million rural residents (0.5% of the rural population) received payments to subsidize medical treatment, compared to roughly 100% of urban residents (Drechsler et al 2007).…”

A systematic approach for assessing spatially and temporally differentiated opportunity costs of biodiversity conservation measures in grasslands

“…However, according to research studies (Kleijn et al 2011, Kleijn and Sutherland 2003, Marggraf 2003 and farmland biodiversity indicators (Statistisches Bundesamt 2010), the success of existing agrienvironment schemes in terms of conservation is mixed at best. One of the reasons for this failure is, to our knowledge, the lack of approaches and decision support tools which systematically assess the effectiveness and costs of a large set of potential land-use measures on a national or regional scale, despite the growing body of research in this field (Drechsler et al 2007, Johst et al 2002, Primdahl et al 2010; for integrated modelling approaches see also Rossing et al 2007). …”