Economic Incentives, Perceptions and Compliance with Marine Turtle Egg Harvesting Regulation in Nicaragua

La Flor Wildlife Refuge and nearby beaches on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua are important nesting sites for various species of endangered marine turtles. However, illegal harvesting of turtle eggs threatens the survival of marine turtles. In this study, we analysed the different motivations of local villagers for complying with a ban on harvesting marine turtle eggs in a context, in which government authorities do not have the means to fully enforce existing regulations. We also analysed the effectiveness and the participation of locals in an incipient performance-based nest conservation payment programme to protect turtle eggs. The analysis of survey-based data from 180 households living in Ostional, the largest village near La Flor Wildlife Refuge, indicates remarkable socio-economic differences between harvesters and non-harvesters. Our findings suggest that harvesters are associated mainly with a lack of income from other activities and the absence of productive assets, such as land for cattle and/or agriculture. In addition, the lack of legitimacy of prevailing institutions (i.e., actual regulations) also seems to perpetuate illegal harvesting. The performance-based payments programme is an effective option for protecting nests on isolated beaches, however, it is not clear if it changes harvesting behaviour overall. Normative motivations to protect the turtles are important determinants of participation in this programme, although the financial reward is also an important incentive, particularly since most participants who are egg harvesters depend on this activity as their main source of income

Time-varying pricing may increase total electricity consumption: Evidence from Costa Rica

We study the implementation of a time-varying pricing (TVP) program by a major electricity utility in Costa Rica. Because of particular features of the data, we use recently developed understanding of the two-way fixed effects differences-in-differences estimator along with event-study specifications to interpret our results. Similar to previous research, we find that the program reduces consumption during peak-hours. However, in contrast with previous research, we find that the program increases total consumption. With a stylized economic model, we show how these seemingly conflicted results may not be at odds. The key element of the model is that previous research used data from rich countries, in which the use of heating , cooling devices drives electricity consumption, but we use data from a tropical middle-income country, where very few households have heating or cooling devices. Since there is not much room for technological changes (which might reduce consumption at all times), behavioral changes to reduce consumption during peak hours are not enough to offset the increased consumption during off-peak hours (when electricity is cheaper). Our results serve as a cautionary piece of evidence for policy makers interested in reducing consumption during peak hours-the goal can potentially be achieved with TVP, but the cost is increased total consumption (c) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Mercados de productos verdes certificados. Borrador

El objetivo de este informe es identificar si existen tendencias favorables para la producción, procesamiento y comercialización de eco-productos agrícolas y forestales a nivel mundial, con perspectivas para una participación exitosa de América Latina y el Caribe en los nichos de mercado correspondientes

Time-varying pricing may increase total electricity consumption : Evidence from Costa Rica

We study the implementation of a time-varying pricing (TVP) program by a major electricity utility in Costa Rica. Because of particular features of the data, we use recently developed understanding of the two-way fixed effects differences-in-differences estimator along with event-study specifications to interpret our results. Similar to previous research, we find that the program reduces consumption during peak-hours. However, in contrast with previous research, we find that the program increases total consumption. With a stylized economic model, we show how these seemingly conflicted results may not be at odds. The key element of the model is that previous research used data from rich countries, in which the use of heating and cooling devices drives electricity consumption, but we use data from a tropical middle-income country, where very few households have heating or cooling devices. Since there is not much room for technological changes (which might reduce consumption at all times), behavioral changes to reduce consumption during peak hours are not enough to offset the increased consumption during off-peak hours (when electricity is cheaper). Our results serve as a cautionary piece of evidence for policy makers interested in reducing consumption during peak hours—the goal can potentially be achieved with TVP, but the cost is increased total consumptio

Servicios ecosistémicos: un pilar para el desarrollo de ALC

Este artículo pertenece a la sección 2 "Estado y perspectiva de los desarrollo tecnológicos y productivos de la bioeconomía en América Latina y el Caribe" del compendio "Informe de situación y perspectivas de la bioeconomía en América Latina y el Caribe"Analiza la oportunidad clave que emerge de la bioeconomía en ALC para aprovechar los recursos biológicos de la región de manera sostenible, lo que no solo puede impulsar el crecimiento económico, sino también abordar preocupaciones ambientales. En ese sentido, se señala el desarrollo de los servicios ecosistémicos, cuyo objetivo es optimizar sus potenciales contribuciones a un crecimiento económico sostenible y el desarrollo cultural

Volumetric pricing in rural Central America: Drivers of adoption and potential effects on water delivery

In rural and peri‑urban areas of Central America, community water organizations (CWOs) provide water to 60 % of the population, thereby playing a pivotal role in achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals. However, the underlying environmental, climatic, and institutional factors explaining the adoption of volumetric pricing from these water providers and its effect on service delivery are typically overlooked in the literature. In this paper, we address two issues. First, we test whether volumetric pricing affects the service water delivery in a rural setting, drawing on a random sample of cross-sectional data on 154 CWOs in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. We find that volumetric pricing is associated with substantially more successful water delivery, even when conditioned on institutional capacity, environmental attributes, climatic conditions, and country-fixed effects. Despite this strong relationship, volumetric pricing has yet to be widely adopted, particularly in Nicaragua and Guatemala. Therefore, as the second goal, we try to identify the institutional and socio-ecological conditions in which volumetric pricing is adopted. We find that volumetric pricing is more likely used when communities (1) experience adverse environmental and climatic conditions associated with water scarcity and (2) have greater institutional capacity. Our results highlight the importance of examining the social-ecological system to assess the performance and adoption of water management institution

La gestión del agua en Valle de à ngeles, Honduras: elementos claves para la protección y buen aprovechamiento del agua

El estudio se enfocó en cuatro temas relevantes para el manejo y gestión de los recursos hídricos en el municipio: i) las instituciones del Estado y las leyes nacionales existentes para la gestión del agua, ii) la capacidad de los actores locales (municipalidad y juntas administradoras del agua) para proteger y administrar el agua, iii) el análisis de los conflictos socio-ambientales y situaciones problemáticas en torno a este recurso, iv) el análisis de los factores y actores (fuerzas sociales) que están a favor - o en contra - de la gestión del agua en el municipio de Valle de Ángeles. Con esto se busca definir elementos claves que coadyuven a una mejor gobernabilidad y creación de instituciones para la gestión de los recursos hídricos. La metodología de investigación estuvo orientada por cuatro componentes de trabajo interrelacionados:.1. Análisis de la situación del marco legal vigente para conocer la normativa existente a nivel nacional y municipal y las prácticas locales para el cuidado del agua.2. Conocimiento de la capacidad y roles de actores para determinar la capacidad de la municipalidad y las juntas de agua para cuidar y manejar el agua. 3. La determinación de conflictos existentes para conocer los tipos de conflictos en el tema agua, los actores involucrados y los pasos para su posible solución.4. El análisis de la correlación de fuerzas sociales para conocer aquellos factores y actores que están a favor o en contra de la protección del agua. También se observaron procesos cambiantes a partir de medidas y estrategias implementadas en el ámbito local