Fire, Tractors, and Health in the Amazon: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Fire Policy

Author(s)

Morello, Thiago ^[1] ; Martino, Simone ^[2] ; Duarte, Alejandro F. ^[3] ; Anderson, Liana ^{[4, 5]} ; Davis, Katrina J. ^{[6, 7]} ; Silva, Sonaira ^[8] ; Bateman, Ian J. ^[6]

Affiliation

^[1] Fed Univ ABC, Sao Bernardo Do Campo, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ York, Dept Environm & Geog, York, N Yorkshire - England

^[3] Univ Fed Acre, Rio Branco - Brazil

^[4] Univ Oxford, Environm Change Inst, Oxford - England

^[5] Brazilian Ctr Monitoring & Early Warnings Nat Dis, Sao Jose Dos Campos - Brazil

^[6] Univ Exeter, Business Sch, Land Environm Econ & Policy Inst LEEP, Exeter, Devon - England

^[7] Univ Western Australia, UWA Sch Agr & Environm, Crawley, WA - Australia

^[8] Univ Fed Acre, Cruzeiro Do Sul, Acre - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: LAND ECONOMICS; v. 95, n. 3, p. 409-434, AUG 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Pollution from agricultural fires is a global health issue that is particularly challenging where smallholders depend on burnings for subsistence. In Acre state, Western Amazon, a partial ban on fire, enforced with fines, is coupled with subsidized tractors. To evaluate this policy, a discrete choice experiment and contingent valuation were merged into a novel statistical variant of the Hicks-Kaldor test that is robust to preference heterogeneity. Among 27 ways to extend the ban, 5 could improve both respiratory health and smallholders' welfare, when compensated with tractors that are available for longer hours and at the right time of the year. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/15833-6 - Economic analysis of land use change in the Amazon: accounting for the externalities of fires
• Grantee: Thiago Fonseca Morello Ramalho da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research