Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management

Tropical forests store vast amounts of carbon, harbor the majority of Earth's terrestrial species, and regulate water cycles that billions of people depend on, yet they continue to disappear at rates that outpace the policies designed to protect them. Researchers working at the intersection of ecology, economics, and governance examine what drives deforestation—from agricultural expansion and weak land tenure to commodity markets and corruption—and how different interventions, such as payments for ecosystem services, protected areas, and community-managed forests, perform under real-world conditions. A central tension in the literature concerns whether economic incentives like carbon credits can reliably substitute for stronger regulatory enforcement, and how benefits and decision-making power should be distributed among governments, local communities, and indigenous peoples. Ongoing work also grapples with how accelerating climate change both threatens remaining forest cover and alters the assumptions underlying conservation strategies designed for a more stable world.

Works

80,514

Total citations

1,414,044

Keywords

Tropical DeforestationEnvironmental ServicesProtected AreasCommunity-Based ConservationBiodiversity ConservationPayments for Ecosystem Services