Assessing the effectiveness of payments for ecosystem services for diversifying rubber in Yunnan, China

Authored by John Ward, Alex Smajgl, Jianchu Xu, Stephen Egan, Zhuang-Fang Yi, Yufang Su

Date Published: 2015

DOI: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2015.03.014

Sponsors: DFAT-CSIRO Research for Development Alliance

Platforms: Java

Model Documentation: Pseudocode ODD AORML Flow charts

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

Monoculture rubber plantations are rapidly expanding throughout Southeast Asia. The Prefecture of Xishuangbanna is characterised as both an epicenter of Chinese biodiversity and rubber production. The rapid conversion of native primary forest into rubber plantations has introduced tensions between the competing political goals to conserve biodiversity and heritage landscapes both driving the rapidly emerging tourism industry and economic aspirations at household and district levels. In China, decision makers discuss payments for ecosystem service schemes to resolve these tensions. As a component of the policy development process, this research project was invited to inform the political debate. Agent-based simulations revealed perverse outcomes of payments for ecosystem services, intended to encourage the conversion of monoculture rubber into agroforestry rubber. As an outcome of this modelling-based initiative, managing agencies have revised previously drafted payment schemes and reconsidered the importance of monitoring and regulatory approaches. Crown Copyright (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tags

Agent-based models Dynamics Biodiversity Land-use Conservation systems Protocol Rain-forest Xishuangbanna