Cost-effective species conservation: an application to Huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus) in Chile

Abstract

In this paper we study the cost-effective allocation of the land in the Cordilleran Protection Area (CPA), Region VIII, Chile, for the conservation of a highly threatened species: the Huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus). Using a production possibilities frontier (PPF) approach, a linear programming optimization model for a ten-year time period is proposed. Our model takes into account both the preferences of the species for different habitats and the opportunity cost of the land. We evaluate different possibilities of land allocation and identify cost-effective alternatives in the provision of both conservation and income.The results confirm the hypothesis that both the population of Huemul and income from economic activities can be increased compared with current levels. Therefore the current allocation of the land in the CPA is not cost-effective.