ABSTRACT
The benefits of environmental conservation are indisputable. However, conservation can also have negative impacts, including community displacement, exposure to zoonotic diseases and pest and wildlife damages. Bhutan is a proud conservationist country that boasts of being the only carbon negative nation in the world. However, its farmers often bear costs associated with wildlife-related destruction of crops, livestock, and property. In response, the government and citizens of Bhutan deploy various mitigation strategies ranging from compensation schemes to electric fencing. In this chapter, we examine the economic returns of one such low-cost strategy, Fabricated Electric Fencing (FEF). We present results from a cost-benefit analysis of the use of FEF based on data from 110 households in eastern Bhutan. The findings suggest that the probability of crop damages decreases by 42% in plots with FEF, saving the average farmer Nu.10,862 (US$145) per acre or approximately Nu. 223,540 (US$ 2,981) annually from 15 km of fencing. The estimated benefit-cost ratio of 2.7 suggests that FEF is an economically viable investment that can be potentially scaled and used more widely.
