Doctoral Dissertation Research: An Anthropological Investigation of the Relationship between Values, Land Use Decisions, and Market-based Mechanisms

University Of Georgia Research Foundation Inc, Athens GA

Investigators

Abstract

This research will focus on how private landowner values and land-use decisions relate to market-based mechanisms. The research will take place in the Bellbird Biological Corridor (CBPC) located in western Costa Rica, an appropriate setting for the work as this is a mixed-use planning region designed to encourage sustainable development through market-based mechanisms including nature tourism and payments for environmental services. Market-based conservation programs can improve some indicators of ecological health and rural livelihoods, but the mischaracterization of landowner values can have the paradoxical effect of increasing landscape degradation. The research integrates the nonmarket valuation method of a stated choice experiment with ethnographic data from semi-structured interviews and focus groups to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the relation between landowner values, land-use decisions, and the ecological integrity of the landscape. Geographically weighted regression will be used to examine the strength and variation in biophysical and socioeconomic drivers of forest growth and relate this information to national and local sustainable development goals. By combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies, this research will intellectually contribute to understanding how market economics impact human well-being. Through its attention to spatial scale, it will demonstrate how individuals and communities position themselves to interact with market-based mechanisms. The broader impacts of this research extend to environmental education, tourism regulation, and payment for environmental services programing activities being organized within the CBPC. It will also catalyze a new initiative between the University of Georgia and the Bellbird Biological Corridor to foster training opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students across the region.