Title
Economic Incentives for Management of Venezuelan Caiman
Author(s)
Thorbjarnarson, J., and A. Velasco
Published
1999
Publisher
Conservation Biology
Abstract
In Venezuela, the harvest of spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) has generated significant economic benefits for citizens and the government wildlife department. Between 1983 and 1995 more than 1 million caiman were harvested, with an export value in excess of $US 115 million. Although limited survey data restrict quantitative comparisons, most indications suggest that the harvest has been within sustainable limits. Hunting is conducted on private lands in the central Venezuelan plains where caiman populations benefit from cattle ranching management activities, particularly the construction of dry-season water holes. For ranchers, caiman hunting produces a high return on investment, but the overall earnings are small when compared to those produced by cattle. Caiman are mostly a quick and easy source of income that complements cattle ranching, and there is little incentive to actively manage caiman populations. The only evidence that the income from caiman harvests generates economic incentives to protect caiman populations is that landowners sold the skins of caiman illegally hunted in other areas, so as not to reduce their own caiman populations and possibly diminish future hunting quotas. There is no evidence that caiman harvesting generates economic incentives to protect natural habitat, because caiman benefit from human alteration of savanna habitats associated with the much more economically important cattle ranching activities. Recent changes in how hunting quotas are assigned have reduced economic incentives for landowners to protect caiman populations, but the changes have made the quota-setting procedure simpler. One of the greatest conservation benefits of the program has been its ability to generate operating funds for the traditionally cash-strapped government wildlife agency through a variety of taxes and user fees. Due to a recent government restructuring, however, program proceeds will now go to the central treasury and will no longer benefit wildlife management programs.
Keywords
Conservation planning; Economic instrument; Reptile; Wildlife management
Full Citation
Thorbjarnarson, J., and A. Velasco. 1999. Economic Incentives for Management of Venezuelan Caiman. Conservation Biology 13:397-406.
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