Nature’s care: diarrhea, watershed protection, and biodiversity conservation in Flores, Indonesia

Biodiversity and Conservation volume 16, pages2801–2819(2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Part of the puzzle surrounding biodiversity loss lies in an incomplete understanding of how humans value the functions and services that flow from biodiversity conservation projects. This paper takes a closer look at the links between the conservation of biodiversity and the livelihoods of rural people who live on the fringes of the parks and protected areas. We revisit some of the key aspects of ecosystem valuation—purpose, methodology, and policy design and implementation—because the links between biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services, and human welfare are obscured by considerable smoke and mirrors. Using a biodiversity conservation project (Ruteng Park) on Flores Island in Indonesia as a case study, we build a concrete empirical example of ecosystem valuation. This conservation project has resulted in spatially patchy watershed protection that allows us to identify and estimate the impacts of watershed services on human health (diarrhea prevalence) in the buffer zone of the park. We conclude by offering a plan of research to improve the design of conservation interventions for protecting biodiversity and providing ecosystem services. These recommendations include developing more conceptual knowledge on the linkages between biodiversity and ecosystem services; scaling up valuation efforts of underappreciated services such as health; shifting focus from valuing services individually to valuing multiple benefits from the same area; and conducting conservation policy experiments to identify causal outcomes (including defensible estimates of ecosystem values).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Furthermore, Pattanayak and Butry (2005) conducted auxiliary regressions to test whether ecosystem service flow (e.g., stream sedimentation and dry season baseflow) are exogenous to the households by using road density, population, and forest cover as instrumental variables. As a by product of this analysis, the authors confirmed the positive relationship between primary forest cover and baseflow, and the negative relationship between regenerating forest cover and baseflow.

  2. 2.

    The authors are aware of the scientific rigor needed to establish causality in public health studies and are currently conducting a multi-year multi-site large scale evaluation of water and sanitation impacts on health in several hundreds of Indian villages using randomized and non-randomized (matching) methods.

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Affiliations

  1. Public Health and the Environment, RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, PO Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709-2194, USA

    Subhrendu K. Pattanayak

  2. Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202, USA

    Kelly J. Wendland

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  1. Subhrendu K. Pattanayak
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Correspondence to Subhrendu K. Pattanayak.

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Pattanayak, S.K., Wendland, K.J. Nature’s care: diarrhea, watershed protection, and biodiversity conservation in Flores, Indonesia. Biodivers Conserv 16, 2801–2819 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-007-9215-1

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Keywords

  • Conservation evaluation
  • Diarrhea
  • Eco-epidemiology
  • Indonesian parks
  • Watershed protection