ABSTRACT

Back to the Basics: Improved Property Rights can Help Save Ecuador's Rainforests

By Kristen Hite

This article examines property rights in Ecuador as a case study for the proposition that conservation-minded sustainable development efforts cannot succeed where a strong local system of property rights is absent. The author first defines sustainable land use techniques within the Ecuadorian context. She argues that land uses in Ecuador face differentiated protections with high intensity uses such as timber plantations or ranching enjoying more secure rights than the less traditional market uses associated with sustainable development. She provides examples of how such less traditional uses can, however, compete economically while still promoting sustainable management practices.

After exploring the definition of sustainable land use and showing that such uses can compete with non-sustainable methods, the author then discusses the challenges to sustainable management methods, arguing that conflicting laws have led to the emergence of incompatible competing land uses. The lack of exclusive property rights under existing law exacerbates the problems of competing uses, as does the failure of the system to adequately enforce property rights. The author concludes that reinforcing the property rights system is an essential prerequisite for the success of market-based conservation measures.