Publication Details
Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.14512/gaia.17.S1.12
Title (Primary) Compensating municipalities for protected areas: fiscal transfers for biodiversity conservation in Saxony, Germany
Author Ring, I.
Source Titel Gaia-Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society
Year 2008
Department OEKON
Volume 17
Issue Suppl. 1
Page From 143
Page To 151
Language deutsch
Abstract Local conservation efforts and land-use restrictions due to protected areas are often related to benefits at higher governmental levels. This gives rise to spatial externalities that - if not adequately compensated - may lead to an underprovision of public goods and services. This article proposes two models that would expand the existing intergovernmental fiscal transfer system from the state to the local level in Saxony, Germany, to include designated protected areas; the models are based on actual administrative, social, and economic data from 2002. Conservation units (CUs) are identified in each municipality by overlaying Geographical Information System (GIS) layers of the various categories of protected areas over a total of 537 municipal borders in Saxony. The first model considers CUs within the calculation of general lump-sum transfers by "translating" CUs into the generic indicator of inhabitants. In the second model, a specified amount of the overall transfer sum is devoted to conservation according to the share of CUs a municipality holds in relation to its total area. Both approaches lead to higher transfers, especially to rural communities (though to varying degrees), thereby acknowledging the latter's ecological services to society.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=1351
Ring, I. (2008):
Compensating municipalities for protected areas: fiscal transfers for biodiversity conservation in Saxony, Germany
GAIA 17 (Suppl. 1), 143 - 151 10.14512/gaia.17.S1.12