Direct payments to conserve biodiversity

Abstract

International donors and private citizens have invested billions of dollars to protect biodiversity in developing nations. The most popular investments aim to encourage economic activities that indirectly protect ecosystems and species. An alternative form of investment is to pay directly for conservation outcomes, as is commonly done in high-income nations. While not a “silver bullet,” direct approaches may, in many cases, be more effective and efficient than indirect ones, and thus merit greater attention in developing nations. This article is reprinted with permission from Science, Volume 298, Issue 5599, Issue of 29 November 2002, page 1718-1719. Copyright © 2002 by The American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved. Full text available in print version of the journal. Himalayan Journal of Sciences 1(2): 81-83, 2003