Investing in Wildlife: Can Wildlife Pay its Way?

The paper analyses economic and ecological mechanisms determining wildlife investments in the context of pastoral exploitation of the semi-arid African rangeland. We consider a group of pastoralists practising two production activities, cattle herding and wildlife harvesting. Livestock and wildlife interact with each other as there is competition for grazing land. A bioeconomic model is formulated to analyse this interaction and the pastoralist's optimal degree of investments in livestock and wildlife. The factors working in the direction of threatening the wildlife are identified. Next, the management problem is analysed in a conservation perspective where CITES-policies are imposed, and where there is international payment for conservation of endangered species.