The Socio Bosque Program for Rainforest and Paramo Conservation, Ecuador

The Socio Bosque Program is a state-funded, nation-wide program which provides financial incentive to participating forest landowners in exchange conservation of native forests and other types of native vegetation. The program's objectives include both ecosystem conservation and poverty alleviation goals on lands that belong to local and indigenous communities and individual households

U.S. consumer preferences for elderberry products

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on June 11, 2012).The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Thesis advisor: Dr. Francisco X. AguilarIncludes bibliographical references.M. S. University of Missouri--Columbia 2011."December 2011"Increased production of North American Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) for its use in value-added secondary products is a prime example of the growth in non-traditional agroforestry product markets. Nonetheless, greater demand of elderberry products may be fostered through a better understanding of consumer preferences. With detailed information of the consumer market for elderberry products, prospective firms can develop strategies to enter the elderberry industry and firms currently supplying the market can develop strategies to increase their market share. The research is composed of both local exploratory consumer research and a national consumer preferences survey. The local exploratory research included: (1) a local consumer survey and (2) a consumer focus group. Information gained in exploratory research was then used to create an effective online consumer preference survey. The online survey gathered information from 1,048 household from the continental United States on their preferences for elderberry juice and jelly products. A cluster analysis was applied to define consumer market segments based on how respondents identified their lifestyles and whether they had purchased elderberry products. The four market segments were composed of health conscious elderberry consumers, less health conscious elderberry consumers, health conscious prospective consumers and less health conscious prospective consumers. A choice-based conjoint analysis was then used in the survey to estimate consumer sensitivity to product attributes of price, health related claims and the origin labels. As a result of the study, firms selling elderberry products will be able to increase the sale of their products through effective market strategies

Consumer preference for elderberry juice products

Paper presented at the 12th North American Agroforesty Conference, which was held June 4-9, 2011 in Athens, Georgia.In Ashton, S. F., S.W. Workman, W.G. Hubbard and D.J. Moorhead, eds. Agroforestry: A Profitable Land Use. Proceedings, 12th North American Agroforestry Conference, Athens, GA, June 4-9, 2011.Increased production of the North American Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) for its use in value-added specialty products is a prime example of the growth and potential of non-traditional agroforestry product markets. A consumer survey was conducted at the 2010 Missouri Chestnut Roast Festival to evaluate the importance of elderberry product attributes based on consumer segmentation and evaluated existing consumer knowledge and opinions of elderberry products. Using a cluster analysis respondents were classified into two clearly defined market segments. The first cluster was composed of individuals who identify themselves as being very health conscious in their life style and consumption habits. These individuals were found to be more likely to be female and on average significantly older with ages ranging between 46 and 55. The second cluster was composed of individuals that identified themselves as being less health conscious than cluster one. These individuals were more likely male and on average significantly younger than the first cluster being between 36 and 45. Both market segments identified the price of the product and organic certification as being the most important attributes in making elderberry juice purchasing decisions. This information was used to develop a more extensive conjoint analysis survey to evaluate national and niche markets for elderberry juice.Phillip Mohebalian (1), Mihaela Cernusca (2) and Francisco Aguilar (1) ; 1. University of Missouri Department of Forestry, 2. University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry.Includes bibliographical references

Deforestation in South America's tri-national Parana Atlantic Forest: Trends and associational factors

South America's Tri-national Parana Atlantic Forest, an ecological region spanning across the nations of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, is one of the most diverse in the world but also one of the most vulnerable to deforestation. A review of public policy interventions shows all three governments have taken major legislative steps to protect remaining forests, but studies evaluating deforestation trends and associated factors in this region are scarce or non-existent. Here, we make a direct contribution to this knowledge gap by assessing deforestation trends within Pararna Atlantic forests of Argentina's Misiones, Brazil's Parana, and Paraguay's Alto Parana be-tween 2000 and 2020. Over this period about 20% of forest cover was lost in Misiones, 13% in Parana, and 18% in Alto Parana. The odds of observed deforestation, else constant, showed nuanced associations with proximity to nearest roads, cities, and ports. Higher levels of economic growth were directly associated with deforestation, as were increases in population density over the entire period. Protected area designation between years 2000 and 2020 showed effectiveness in lowering odds of deforestation with heterogeneous associations across countries. Our results reflect associational inferences with estimated deforestation; future research should investigate causal effects of protected designation, and assess its role in avoided degradation and wider socio-economic impacts

Conservation payments to reduce tropical deforestation and degradation : evidence from the Ecuadorian Andes to the Amazon basin

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Payment for Environmental Services (PES) are market-based policy instruments. Which compensate private resource managers financially for the environmental services their forests provide. As forest PES policies are increasingly implemented; further research is needed to quantify their environmental benefits and to strategize their improved efficiency. This dissertation evaluates PES policy outcomes from a quantitative analysis within the specific case study of Ecuador's Socio Bosque Program (Span.: Programa Socio Bosque-PSB). The PSB is a national forest PES program instituted in 2008. The dissertation aims to bridge the gap in knowledge regarding the role of PES policies in preventing deforestation and forest degradation. It approaches this aim by presenting methods which integrate and analyze data in a way which progresses the science of conservation policy evaluation. Ultimately, the insights provided advance the science of conservation policy thereby preventing the needless degradation and loss of forest ecosystems. The specific objectives of the overall dissertation are to: (1) better understand the relationship between variations in the structure PES contracts and forest owner enrollment, and (2) go beyond measuring the effect of conservation payments in preventing deforestation to estimate their effect in preventing forest degradation