Communal land conservation in northern Ethiopia: The relationship between urban area access and individual and social norms

Abstract

SubSaharan Africa has experienced rapid market economy development in urban areas and in terms of road network systems connecting urban and rural areas. As the access to urban areas improves, the influence of economic development may alter local norms regarding the conservation of communal lands in rural areas. This study investigates how access from rural to urban areas affects individual and social norms regarding communal land conservation. We used interview data from 110 village leaders and 660 farmers' community group leaders in northern Ethiopia. Individual moral norms were estimated based on the respondents' willingness to participate in communal tree planting on communal lands as a means of halting and reversing land degradation. Social norms were estimated based on the proportion of exclosure in communal areas and the number of days a community member works without pay for communal land conservation. The relationships between the norms and urban access were investigated using probit and tobit regression models. The results reveal that access to urban areas positively affects the establishment of individual and social norms, suggesting that access to urban areas contributes to communal land conservation by facilitating intervention in rural areas, thus improving norms for natural resource management.