v1.0.0 Data and Code for "Outsourcing Wildlife Conservation: A Comparative Analysis of Private and Government Management of Protected Areas in Africa"

Protected areas can conserve wildlife and benefit people when managed effectively. African governments increasingly delegate the management of protected areas to private, non-governmental organizations, hoping that private organizations' significant resources and technical capacities actualize protected areas' potential. Does private 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.若管理得当，保护区可有效保护野生动物并惠及人类。非洲各国政府正日益将保护区的管理权下放给私人及非政府组织，期望借助这类主体雄厚的资源与技术实力，激活保护区的发展潜力。相较于政府管理的反事实场景，私人管理能否提升保护区的保护成效？本研究依托管理权从政府向非洲公园（African Parks, AP）——非洲规模最大的私人保护区管理机构——的转移事件，证实私人管理可通过减少大象盗猎、提升鸟类种群丰度，显著改善野生动物保护成效。研究结果同时显示，AP的管理模式可推动旅游业发展，但对农村财富的影响尚无定论。不过，AP的管理也会增加武装团体袭击平民的风险，这或许是AP强化监测与执法体系所带来的意外后果。上述研究结果揭示了非洲私人管理保护区模式下，保护、经济发展与安全治理三者之间复杂的相互作用关系。