Low-income livestock farmers in developing countries are often faced with a difficult dilemma: protect their animals from endangered predators, or spare the threatened species at the expense of their livestock and livelihood.
Low-income livestock farmers in developing countries are often faced with a difficult dilemma: protect their animals from endangered predators, or spare the threatened species at the expense of their livestock and livelihood.
A new paper by Rice University economist Ted Loch-Temzelides examines such circumstances faced by farmers in Pakistan. “Conservation, risk aversion, and livestock insurance: The case of the snow leopard” outlines a plan under which farmers can protect themselves from crippling financial losses while preserving and possibly benefiting from the lives of endangered predators.
“These livestock owners often have very low incomes,” Loch-Temzelides said. “The loss of even one animal can be financially devastating. They’re faced with the difficult task of weighing conservation efforts against economic losses due to attacks on their herds. And this situation isn’t limited to snow leopards — it applies anywhere large predators live near livestock.”
Read more at: Rice University
