Sammendrag
In Costa Rica, policymakers know in their hearts that the time
of ‘cheap’ conservation of biologically important land is gone.
Conservation policy has often been a ‘shot in the dark’ when
it comes to acknowledging the opportunity costs of forest
conservation. In theory, knowledge of opportunity costs could
help authorities calibrate payments for ecosystem services so
that they provide a cost-effective incentive by compensating for
opportunity costs.
Although different models exist to estimate opportunity costs, they
tend to have limited applicability to real-time policy making. We
propose using market prices for land as an initial proxy indicator
for opportunity cost. Land prices are easy to understand, and in a
well-functioning market should roughly represent the net present
value of the benefits derived from the land over time. We show that
the competitiveness of conservation policies will in future depend
on a policy mix of PES acting in concert with national forest policy
and local land-use regulations. However, to be effective, PES will
need to complement strengthened municipal-level land-use zoning
regulations, both in rural and peri-urban areas.
Land prices, payments for
environmental services, opportunity
costs, hedonic model
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