[MCN] Election-year politics can foil forest conservation policy

[Lance Olsen]

Elections may be a catalyst for deforestation, new research suggests

9 JANUARY 2018

Elections may be a catalyst for deforestation, new research suggests <https://blogs.agu.org/geospace/2018/01/09/elections-may-catalyst-deforestation-new-research-suggests/>
1st 3 paragraphs

Democratic elections may be a catalyst for deforestation, according to new research. A study that examined deforestation rates during election years found that competitive elections are associated with higher rates of deforestation. 

The reason? Politicians are trading trees for votes, according to the researchers.

In the new study, researchers examined satellite images of forest cover and data on the national elections of every country in the world between 1970 and 2005. They found that rates of forest cover loss are substantially higher during election years, especially when the outcome of the election is uncertain.

The study, which was presented last month at the 2017 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in New Orleans, suggests politicians often grant their constituents access to forested lands in exchange for electoral support. The results provide evidence that democratization doesn’t always improve conservation, according to the researchers.

Full report:

https://blogs.agu.org/geospace/2018/01/09/elections-may-catalyst-deforestation-new-research-suggests/ <https://blogs.agu.org/geospace/2018/01/09/elections-may-catalyst-deforestation-new-research-suggests/>
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Genesis. 7. [17] Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh,  ….  ; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

Ecclesiastes 3:19 …a man hath no preeminence above a beast; for all is vanity.

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