Cost-Effective Policy Instruments for Biodiversity Conservation Under Climate Change – the Need for Flexibility

60 Pages Posted: 30 Oct 2023

See all articles by Charlotte Gerling

Charlotte Gerling

Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg

Martin Drechsler

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Johannes A. Leins

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Astrid Sturm

Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg

Frank Wätzold

Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU)

Abstract

Climate change is one of the main threats for biodiversity. As it affects the ecological and economic system, conservation costs and impacts may change in a heterogeneous manner. This implies that cost-effective conservation sites and measures may no longer be so in the future. We introduce spatial flexibility (to adapt the location of conservation sites) and management flexibility (to adapt the conservation measures on those sites) as novel criteria for analysing the cost-effectiveness of policy instruments to conserve biodiversity under climate change. We develop a generic climate-ecological-economic modelling approach that captures the role of spatial and management flexibility to assess the cost-effectiveness of policy instruments. We apply the modelling approach to the conservation of an indicator species in agricultural grasslands in a case study area in Northern Germany, and compare the cost-effectiveness of the policy instruments of land purchase (low spatial flexibility, high management flexibility) and long-term individual conservation contracts (medium spatial and management flexibility) considering a period from 2020-2079. We find that both spatial and management flexibility matter in the case study and discuss their broader relevance for conservation in a changing climate.

Keywords: Adaptation, agricultural landscape, ecological-economic modelling, large marsh grasshopper, policy instrument evaluation, tool

Suggested Citation

Gerling, Charlotte and Drechsler, Martin and Leins, Johannes A. and Sturm, Astrid and Wätzold, Frank, Cost-Effective Policy Instruments for Biodiversity Conservation Under Climate Change – the Need for Flexibility. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4617809 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4617809

Charlotte Gerling (Contact Author)

Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg ( email )

Cottbus
Germany

Martin Drechsler

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Johannes A. Leins

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

No Address Available

Astrid Sturm

Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg ( email )

Frank Wätzold

Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU)

PO Box 101344
Cottbus, 03013
Germany

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