An economic analysis of tropical forest resource conservation in a protected area

Abstract

In this paper, we develop a reduced form model for factors influencing the conservation of forest resources. We then estimate it using a bivariate negative binomial regression model with cases of illegal farming and illegal cattle grazing in theWReserve inWest Africa. Our results show that population size and farm area in the periphery of theWReserve are associated with an increase of 2.4% and 7.1% of the illegal farming, respectively. On the other hand, income level, the existence of a checkpoint, and the distance between the villages and the reserve decrease the illegal grazing activities by 7.3%, 63.2%, and 2.3%, respectively.