UN Environment Programme
http://www.unep.org/PDF/PressReleases/Rhino_Ark_Main_Report.pdf
[From Environmental Valuation and Cost Benefit News] [The report] attributes improved forest cover, safer living conditions for local communities and greater security for wildlife to the fence, which was completed in 2009 after 20 years of construction.
Key findings in the report confirm:
- A 20.6% increase in forest cover between 2005 and 2010
- A 54% decrease in open areas (grassland and cultivation inside the now fenced 2000 km² Aberdare Conservation Area)
- A 47 % increase in exotic plantations outside the fenced area…
The study also recorded socio-economic effects, such as higher household incomes and land values (as high as 300% in some cases) due to improved farmland security, crop yields and safer living conditions…
Total products and services values are put at KES 39.3 billion (US$ 420 million) and biodiversity at KES 20 billion (US$ 214 million) – an overall total of KES 59.3 billion (US$ 633 million)…
