Publication: Does certification change the trajectory of tree cover in working forests in the tropics? An application of the synthetic control method of impact evaluation
Does certification change the trajectory of tree cover in working forests in the tropics? An application of the synthetic control method of impact evaluation
| dc.contributor.author | Rana, P. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Sills, Erin O. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-01-23T18:55:13Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2022-01-23T18:55:13Z | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://open.fsc.org/handle/resource/527 | |
| dc.language | en | |
| dc.rights | Public | |
| dc.rights | Open access | |
| dc.title | Does certification change the trajectory of tree cover in working forests in the tropics? An application of the synthetic control method of impact evaluation | en |
| dcterms.abstract | Certification by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) remains rare among forest management units (FMUs) in natural tropical forests, presenting a challenge for impact evaluation. We demonstrate application of the synthetic control method (SCM) to evaluate the impact of FSC certification on a single FMU in each of three tropical forest landscapes. Specifically, we estimate causal effects on tree cover change from the year of certification to 2012 using SCM and open-access, pan-tropical datasets. We demonstrate that it is possible to construct synthetic controls, or weighted combinations of non-certified FMUs, that followed the same path of tree cover change as the certified FMUs before certification. By using these synthetic controls to measure counterfactual tree cover change after certification, we find that certification reduced tree cover loss in the most recent year (2012) in all three landscapes. However, placebo tests show that in one case, this effect was not significant, and in another case, it followed several years in which certification had the opposite effect (increasing tree cover loss). We conclude that SCM has promise for identifying temporally varying impacts of small-N interventions on land use and land cover change. | en |
| dcterms.accessRights | Public | |
| dcterms.accessRights | Open access | |
| dcterms.bibliographicCitation | Rana, P., and E. O. Sills, 'Does Certification Change the Trajectory of Tree Cover in Working Forests in the Tropics? An Application of the Synthetic Control Method of Impact Evaluation', Forests, vol. 9, no. 98, 2018, pp. 1-15. | en |
| dcterms.issued | 2018 | |
| dcterms.other | Rana, P., and E. O. Sills, 'Does Certification Change the Trajectory of Tree Cover in Working Forests in the Tropics? An Application of the Synthetic Control Method of Impact Evaluation', Forests, vol. 9, no. 98, 2018, pp. 1-15. | |
| dcterms.type | Journal Article | |
| dspace.entity.type | Publication | |
| fsc.evidenceCategory | FSC effect-related studies | |
| fsc.focus.forestType | (not yet curated) | |
| fsc.focus.forestZone | Tropical | |
| fsc.focus.subtopics | Forest loss | |
| fsc.focus.sustainDimension | Environmental | |
| fsc.focus.tenureManagement | (not yet curated) | |
| fsc.focus.tenureOwnership | (not yet curated) | |
| fsc.focus.topics | Forest cover | |
| fsc.issue.environmental | Forest cover | |
| fsc.subject | Landscape approaches | |
| fsc.subject | Deforestation | |
| fsc.subject | Tree cover loss | |
| is.availability.fullText | Full text available | |
| is.contributor.funderType | Private | |
| is.contributor.member | Forest Stewardship Council | |
| is.coverage.country | Brazil | |
| is.coverage.country | Indonesia | |
| is.coverage.country | Gabon | |
| is.coverage.countryAlpha2 | BR | |
| is.coverage.countryAlpha2 | ID | |
| is.coverage.countryAlpha2 | GA | |
| is.coverage.geographicLevel | Site | |
| is.coverage.latitude | -4.375701 | |
| is.coverage.longitude | -53.321842 | |
| is.coverage.place | Para | |
| is.coverage.region | South America | |
| is.coverage.region | Asia | |
| is.coverage.region | Africa | |
| is.evaluation.collection | Remote sensing | |
| is.evaluation.comparison | Treatment vs Control | |
| is.evaluation.counterfacts | Yes | |
| is.evaluation.dataSource | Geospatial data layers | |
| is.evaluation.dataSource | Private company data | |
| is.evaluation.significance | Statistically significant | |
| is.evidenceResourceType | Primary | |
| is.evidenceSubType | Data collected post-intervention | |
| is.evidenceType | Comparative study with matched control | |
| is.focus.products | Forestry products | |
| is.focus.sdg | SDG 15 - Life on Land | |
| is.focus.sectors | Agriculture | |
| is.focus.sectors | Forestry | |
| is.focus.sustainDimension | Environmental | |
| is.focus.sustainIssue | Forests and other ecosystems | |
| is.focus.sustainLens | Landscape approaches | |
| is.focus.sustainOutcome | Deforestation and forest protection | |
| is.focus.systemElement | MandE outcomes and impacts | |
| is.focus.systemElement | MandE performance monitoring | |
| is.identifier.code | Impacts | |
| is.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.3390/f9030098 | |
| is.identifier.fscdoi | http://dx.doi.org/10.34800/fsc-international514 | |
| is.identifier.schemeName | Forest Stewardship Council | |
| is.identifier.schemeType | Voluntary Sustainability Standards | |
| is.item.reviewStatus | Peer reviewed | |
| is.journalName | Forests |