Protected areas can conserve wildlife and benefit people when managed effectively. African governments increasingly delegate the management of protected areas to private, nongovernmental organizations, hoping that private organizations’ significant resources and technical capacities actualize protected areas’ potential. Does private sector management improve outcomes compared to a counterfactual of government management? We leverage the transfer of management authority from governments to African Parks (AP)—the largest private manager of protected areas in Africa—to show that private management significantly improves wildlife outcomes via reduced elephant poaching and increased bird abundances. Our results also suggest that AP’s management augments tourism, while the effect on rural wealth is inconclusive. However, AP’s management increases the risk of armed groups targeting civilians, which could be an unintended outcome of AP’s improved monitoring and enforcement systems. These findings reveal an intricate interplay between conservation, economic development, and security under privately managed protected areas in Africa.

中文翻译：

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非洲保护区的私人管理改善了野生动物和旅游业的成果，但也带来了冲突地区的安全问题


如果管理得当，保护区可以保护野生动物并造福人类。非洲各国政府越来越多地将保护区的管理委托给私人非政府组织，希望私人组织的大量资源和技术能力能够发挥保护区的潜力。与反事实的政府管理相比，私营部门管理是否能改善结果？我们利用管理权从政府向非洲最大的私人保护区管理机构非洲公园 (AP) 的转移来表明，私人管理通过减少大象偷猎和增加鸟类丰富度，显着改善了野生动物的成果。我们的结果还表明，美联社的管理促进了旅游业的发展，但对农村财富的影响尚无定论。然而，美联社的管理增加了武装团体针对平民的风险，这可能是美联社改进的监测和执法系统的意外结果。这些发现揭示了非洲私人管理保护区的保护、经济发展和安全之间错综复杂的相互作用。