The number and area of wildlife ranches in Zambia increased from 30 and 1,420 km(2) in 1997 to 177 and ∼6,000 km(2) by 2012. Wild ungulate populations on wildlife ranches increased from 21,000 individuals in 1997 to ∼91,000 in 2012, while those in state protected areas declined steeply. Wildlife ranching and crocodile farming have a turnover of ∼USD15.7 million per annum, compared to USD16 mill...

The concession of rural credit in the Brazilian Amazon became conditional upon stricter legal and environmental requirements in 2008. This paper uses this policy change to investigate credit constraints in the region, and how the variation in credit impacts deforestation. Di!erences-indi!erences estimation based on a panel of municipalities shows that the policy change led to a reduction in rur...

This article investigates the behavioral drivers of pasture creation and associated implications for deforestation in a 22,000 km2 agricultural frontier spanning the base of Mexico‘s southern Yucatán. After developing a theoretical model that highlights the role of social networks and information spillovers with respect to the decision to begin cattle ranching, we use household data to estimate...

This article investigates the behavioral drivers of pasture creation and associated implications for deforestation in a 22,000 km2 agricultural frontier spanning the base of Mexico‘s southern Yucatán. After developing a theoretical model that highlights the role of social networks and information spillovers with respect to the decision to begin cattle ranching, we use household data to estimate...

Background: The tropical dry forest, the most endangered ecosystem in the Neotropics, is threatened by the dominance of extensive conventional cattle ranching. The consequences of this land use system are particularly evident in the dry forest ecosystem of Panama’s Azuero Peninsula. Deforestation and soil degradation have impaired ecosystem services, which are necessary to support ranching and ...

In the Amazonian agricultural frontier, pasture for cattle ranching is an important and potentially hazardous form of land use because of sediment erosion as pastures degrade. This relationship between ranching, sediment load, and water quality is likely to further exacerbate environmental impacts, particularly in the context of climate change. We examine the role that river basin councils (RBC...

xi Acknowledgments xiii Acronyms and Abbreviations xv Executive Summary xvii 1. Motivation for the Study 1 2. Deforestation and Land Use in Amazonia: Evidence of Large Scale Cattle Ranching 5 Temporal Trend of Deforestation 5 Spatial Patterns at the Municipal Level 6 Evolution of Land Use in Legal Amazonia 9 Contribution of Large and Small Deforested Areas to Overall Deforestation 10 Evolution ...