Applied Seminar

Speaker: Mathias Reynaert (Toulouse School of Economics)

Title: An Evaluation of Protected Area Policies in the European Union

Format: Hybrid

Abstract: The European Union designates 26% of its landmass as a protected area. Protected area policies limit economic development to favor the development of biodiversity. This paper builds a high-resolution remote sensing dataset covering Europe and uses the staggered introduction of protected area policies between 1985 and 2020 to study the selection of land for protection and the causal effect of protection on vegetation cover and economic activity. Our results reveal that, across European countries, levels and trends in vegetation cover and nightlights are indistinguishable for protected and unprotected land---even after several decades. Land that is protected later is not greening differently than land that is protected earlier. We conclude that European conservation efforts lack ambition because policymakers select land for protection not threatened by development.

Organiser: Uta