Agricultural carbon sequestration, poverty, and sustainability

This paper explores the potential impacts of payments for agricultural soil carbon sequestration on poverty of farm households and on the sustainability of agricultural systems, using economic theory combined with evidence from three case studies in Kenya, Peru, and Senegal. The case studies indicat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environment and development economics 2008-06, Vol.13 (3), p.327-352
Main Authors: Antle, J.M, Stoorvogel, J.J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
africa
Agricultural land
Agricultural policy
Agricultural production
Agriculture
Agroforestry
Agrology
Carbon
Carbon sequestration
Case studies
Corn
Crops
design
Developing countries
Economic analysis
Economic models
Economics
Environmental policy
Environmental services
Farm economics
Farmers
Farming systems
Farms
Fertilizers
Greenhouse gases
Households
Hypotheses
International agreements
Irrigation
Kenya
LDCs
management
Modeling
nutrient balances
Organic farming
Payment
Payments
Peru
Poverty
production systems
Sea level
Seasons
Senegal
Soil conservation
soil fertility
Sustainability
Sustainable agriculture
Sustainable development
Watersheds
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Summary:This paper explores the potential impacts of payments for agricultural soil carbon sequestration on poverty of farm households and on the sustainability of agricultural systems, using economic theory combined with evidence from three case studies in Kenya, Peru, and Senegal. The case studies indicate that the likely impact of carbon contracts will be to raise rural incomes and reduce the rate of soil carbon loss. In some cases, carbon contracts may be able to stabilize soil carbon stocks at a higher level than would otherwise be economically feasible. These findings suggest that carbon payments could have a positive impact on the sustainability of production systems while also reducing poverty. The analysis indicates that payments for environmental services are most likely to have a positive impact when they are implemented in an enabling economic and institutional environment.
ISSN:1355-770X
1469-4395
DOI:10.1017/S1355770X08004324