Outsourcing Wildlife Conservation: A Comparative Analysis of Private and Government Management of Protected Areas in Africa
Sean Denny, Gabriel Englander, Patrick Hunnicutt
Protected areas can conserve wildlife and benefit people when managed effectively. African governments increasingly delegate the management of protected areas to private, non-governmental organizations, hoping that private organizations’ significant resources and technical capacities actualize protected areas’ potential. Does private management improve outcomes compared to a counterfactual of government management? We leverage the transfer of management authority from governments to African Parks (AP)—the largest private manager of protected areas in Africa—to show that private management significantly improves wildlife outcomes via reduced elephant poaching and increased bird abundances. Our results also suggest that AP’s management augments tourism, while the effect on rural wealth is inconclusive. However, AP’s management increases the risk of armed groups targeting civilians, which could be an unintended outcome of AP’s improved monitoring and enforcement systems. These findings reveal an intricate interplay between conservation, economic development, and security under privately-managed protected areas in Africa.
Event: World Bank Land Conference 2024 - Washington
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