Economic Benefits Under Alternate Management Practices

In each case where the total economic value of sustainable management practices was compared with management regimes involving conversion of the ecosystem or unsustainable practices, the benefit of managing the ecosystem more sustainably exceeded that of the converted ecosystem even though the private benefits—that is, the actual monetary benefits captured from the services entering the market—would favour conversion or unsustainable management.
Conversion of tropical forest to small-scale agriculture or plantations (Cameroon). Maintenance of the forest with low-impact logging provided social benefits (NWFPs, sedimentation control, and flood prevention) and global benefits (carbon storage plus option, inheritance, and existence values) across the five study sites totalling some $3,400 per hectare. Conversion to small-scale agriculture yielded the greatest private benefits (food production), of about $2,000 per hectare.

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