TY - JOUR

T1 - Policies to reduce local participation in illegal hunting

T2 - The case of Kafue National Park in Zambia

AU - Mutti, Shadreck Mukanjo

AU - Jourdain, Damien

AU - Karuaihe, Selma Tuemumunu

AU - Lundhede, Thomas Hedemark

AU - Mungatana, Eric Dada

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Elsevier B.V.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Using data collected from 217 respondents living near the Kafue National Park in Zambia, we assess how households value alternative policy interventions aimed at minimizing poaching. Building on the current debate on community-based wildlife conservation policy, we presented households with different combinations of agro-inputs packs donation, access to a micro-credit facility and donation of dairy cows for milking. These were proposed as alternative policy interventions to compliment the traditional command and control policy framework, implemented through a rise in frequency of game patrols and increase in minimum jail sentences for poaching offenses. We use a discrete choice experiment to estimate policy preferences and potential trade-offs between poaching and proposed alternative policy instruments. Our findings show that increase in each of the proposed interventions could significantly contribute to the well-being of respondents, potentially reducing the number of hunting trips a poacher would make per month. Similarly, a rise in the deterrent interventions have significant, but weak effect on respondents' choice to poach. The above carrot and stick instruments could be deferentially applied based on cost and effectiveness of each combination to achieve desired goals.

AB - Using data collected from 217 respondents living near the Kafue National Park in Zambia, we assess how households value alternative policy interventions aimed at minimizing poaching. Building on the current debate on community-based wildlife conservation policy, we presented households with different combinations of agro-inputs packs donation, access to a micro-credit facility and donation of dairy cows for milking. These were proposed as alternative policy interventions to compliment the traditional command and control policy framework, implemented through a rise in frequency of game patrols and increase in minimum jail sentences for poaching offenses. We use a discrete choice experiment to estimate policy preferences and potential trade-offs between poaching and proposed alternative policy instruments. Our findings show that increase in each of the proposed interventions could significantly contribute to the well-being of respondents, potentially reducing the number of hunting trips a poacher would make per month. Similarly, a rise in the deterrent interventions have significant, but weak effect on respondents' choice to poach. The above carrot and stick instruments could be deferentially applied based on cost and effectiveness of each combination to achieve desired goals.

KW - Alternative policy approaches

KW - Choice experiment

KW - Community-based wildlife conservation

KW - Kafue National Park

KW - Poaching

KW - Zambia

U2 - 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2023.107762

DO - 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2023.107762

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85147883502

VL - 207

JO - Ecological Economics

JF - Ecological Economics

SN - 0921-8009

M1 - 107762

ER -