2015年-世界发展银行全球_Social_and_Environmental_Impact_of_the_Community_Rangers_Program_in_Aceh_56页_33mb

报告摘要

Summary of the Social and Environmental Impact of the Community Rangers Program in Aceh

Core Content

The Community Rangers Program (CRP) was a community-based forest protection initiative implemented in Aceh, Indonesia between 2011 and 2014. It was designed to address two main objectives: improving the economic and social integration of at-risk youths and enhancing community-level environmental protection. The program was implemented by Fauna and Flora International (FFI) with funding from the World Bank's Consolidating Peaceful Development in Aceh (CPDA) Trust Fund.

The CRP was evaluated through a randomized field experiment, which involved selecting 14 out of 28 forest-edge communities in the Ulu Masen forest area to participate in the program. Within these communities, 258 at-risk youths were randomly assigned to serve as rangers, while 130 were placed in a control group. Additional data were collected from non-CRP treatment areas in Leuser National Park to assess potential spillover effects.

The evaluation also included household and village head surveys, as well as satellite data for measuring deforestation rates and ground-sourced environmental assessments. These data sources allowed for a comprehensive assessment of both social and environmental outcomes.

Main Findings

Social Outcomes

The CRP had positive and significant effects on subjective economic indicators among participants.
- An 18 percentage point increase in the share of rangers who claimed their income was higher than that of others their age.
- A 50 percentage point increase in the share of rangers who stated they were living comfortably on their current income.
- A significant increase in life satisfaction, which may be linked to improved economic conditions.
Economic outcomes were also positively affected, though less strongly.
- A modest increase in total income for rangers.
- Little evidence of improvements in other poverty indicators.
Reduction in illegal logging was observed, with an 8 percentage point decrease in the share of rangers who self-reported engaging in illegal logging in the previous year.
Social integration and acceptance were less impacted:
- A positive and significant increase in participation in community groups, especially farmers' and women's associations.
- Weak evidence of increased respect and reduced family conflict.
- Social benefits were limited to participants, and not necessarily reflected in broader community perceptions.

Environmental Outcomes

The CRP had mixed results on environmental impact:
- Positive effects on attitudes toward the benefits of forest use and REDD+ projects among household and village heads.
- Little impact on actual behavioral change related to forest usage.
- Very weak evidence of reductions in logging and poaching at the village and household levels.
A notable unintended effect was the increase in mining activity across three separate data sources. This suggests that the CRP may have shifted some individuals from illegal logging and poaching to other environmentally harmful activities, such as mining, which were not explicitly monitored.
The overall environmental impact was not as strong as anticipated, possibly due to limited behavioral change and unintended spillover effects.

Key Recommendations

Holistic Approach: Future programs should consider a more holistic approach to conservation, anticipating how individuals may substitute forest-based activities with other income-generating activities that could have negative environmental consequences.
Broader Community Engagement: Interventions should aim to generate community-wide benefits and ensure that incentives are meaningful and widespread. This could include conditional benefits that encourage conservation-friendly practices.
Enforcement Mechanisms: The inclusion of enforcement mechanisms is crucial to ensure that conservation goals are met and that unintended activities like mining are not incentivized.
Knowledge Transfer: The CRP should be designed to facilitate knowledge transfer from rangers to the broader community, similar to agricultural extension agents, to promote sustainable livelihoods and environmental awareness.

Conclusion

The CRP was well-designed for improving the economic and social integration of at-risk youths, with positive outcomes on income, life satisfaction, and community participation. However, its environmental impact was mixed, with an unexpected increase in mining activity. These findings suggest that while the program successfully provided alternatives to illegal logging, it may not have fully addressed the broader environmental challenges in Aceh. Therefore, future programs should be more comprehensive and inclusive to ensure that both social and environmental goals are effectively achieved.

Key Organizations and Support

FFI (Fauna and Flora International): Lead implementing organization.
World Bank (CPDA Trust Fund): Provided funding.
Academic Team: Composed of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, New York University, and University of North Carolina.
Local Support: Included JRI Research, Perkumpulan Rincong, and Banda Aceh World Bank staff.

Methodology Highlights

Randomized Evaluation: Multi-level design to assess causal effects of the CRP.
Data Sources: Individual, household, and village head surveys; satellite data; ground-sourced environmental assessments.
Outcome Variables: Covered economic, social, and environmental indicators.
Attrition: Limited in the ranger candidate sample, with 258 participants and 130 controls.