Premium
CONSERVING TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS IN INDONESIA: A QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF ALTERNATIVE POLICIES
Author(s) -
Thiele R.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.157
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1477-9552
pISSN - 0021-857X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1477-9552.1995.tb00765.x
Subject(s) - deforestation (computer science) , indonesian , externality , natural resource economics , payment , point (geometry) , business , economics , finance , philosophy , linguistics , geometry , mathematics , computer science , microeconomics , programming language
The present paper provides a numerical general equilibrium assessment of policies to reduce tropical deforestation in Indonesia. Two groups of policy measures are examined: (i) forestry policies as a means to internalise the local externalities of deforestation; (ii) international measures to address the global dimension of the problem. Given the relatively short rotation periods and the high harvesting intensity in the forestry sector, it is concluded that among the forestry policies an increase in the minimum harvest age is the best solution from an ecological point of view, because it tackles both problems simultaneously. At the global level, import restrictions, for Indonesian wood products are ecologically ineffective and place considerable costs on the Indonesian economy, whereas compensation payments can compensate for the losses of forest conservation, if the money is invested in the creation of new employment opportunities.