36th Annual Student Research Conference
Markets Aid Rhino Survival
Caroline G. Wright
Dr. David Gillette, Faculty Mentor
Poaching is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity. Several African nations have experimented with bans and severe consequences for poaching to save some of the most vulnerable animals, such as the white rhino. In an article published by the American Institute for Economic Research titled “Markets Aid Rhino Survival”, Dr. David Gillette and I explore an alternative approach to saving the rhinos: establishing markets relying on the cooperation of local villages, as incentivized by the potential gains from limited hunting permissions protected by property rights over the rhinos. The research article explores the potential benefits and backlash to the proposal and the ethical dilemma that it presents, paralleling the famous trolley problem. The guiding question: assuming that rhino conservation is a worthy goal, might this unconventional and perhaps counterintuitive approach to protecting the “near threatened” species be worth a shot?
Keywords: markets, conservation, white rhino, economics, hunting, incentive, trolley problem, environment
Topic(s):Economics
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Session: 202-3
Location: SUB Georgian Room A
Time: 10:45