Ecological Economics 126 (2016) 70–86 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ecological Economics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon Analysis The value of endangered forest elephants to local communities in a transboundary conservation landscape Jonas Ngouhouo Poufoun a,b,c , * , Jens Abildtrup a , Dénis Jean Sonwa c , Philippe Delacote a,d a French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), AgroParisTech, Laboratory of Forest Economics (LEF), 14, Rue Girardet 54 000 Nancy, France b Bureau d’Economie Théorique et Appliquée (BETA), University of Lorraine, 13 Place Carnot CO n ◦ 70026., 54035 Nancy Cedex, France c Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) - Central Africa Regional Office, PO Box: 2008, Yaounde, Cameroon d Climate Economics Chair (CEC), 28 Place de la Bourse, 75002 Paris, France ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 14 August 2015 Received in revised form 30 March 2016 Accepted 4 April 2016 Available online xxxx JEL classification: Q 57 29 C24 Keywords: Forest elephant extinction Indigenous people Contingent valuation WTP Interval regression model Double-hurdle model ABSTRACT This paper seeks to determine and characterize social and cultural preferences for the conservation of endangered forest elephants (EFEs) in the Congo Basins Tridom Landscape. Using unique data from a stratified, random, face-to-face survey with 1,035 households in 108 villages in 2014, we combine double- bounded dichotomous choice with open-ended elicitation formats to assess the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for EFE conservation. We find that local households are willing to pay CFA 1,139.4 (€1.74) per month to prevent EFE extinction. This totals CFA 753.9 million (€1.15 million) per year for all inhabitants. Indigenous- ness positively influences the WTP for EFE conservation. Spatial data suggest that local communities prefer that elephants remain far from their crops. The existence of human-elephant conflicts has a neutral effect on preferences for EFE conservation. Therefore, our study suggests that local communities would engage in biodiversity preservation when the public benefits of conservation are accompanied by private benefits, such as human-elephant conflict avoidance. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Forest elephant (Loxodonta africana cyclotis) 1 poaching in tropical Africa is a major threat to the dynamics of this iconic species. In 2011, the Congo Basins forest elephant population was less than 10% of its potential size and occupied less than 25% of its potential range (Blake et al., 2007; Maisels et al., 2013; Martin and Stiles, 2000). The Tri-national Dja-Odzala-Minkebe (Tridom) cross-border landscape, spanning Cameroon, Congo (R), and Gabon, is considered to have ecological and biodiversity uniqueness, and hosts the most important population of forest elephants in the world, with the highest density in the Minkb National Park (MNP). The MNP lost more than 11,000 individuals between 2004 and 2012, representing more than 50% of the 2004 elephant population (Maisels et al., 2013). * Corresponding author. E-mail address: ngouhouo8p8j@gmail.com (J. Poufoun). 1 There are two elephant subspecies, the forest elephant and the savannah elephant. This paper focuses on the forest elephant. Despite the ivory trade ban by CITES 2 to protect the African ele- phant (Van Kooten, 2005), the current growing demand for ivory for jewellery, leisure and Asian medicine as well as the increasing deforestation and land pressure are the main drivers of the ele- phant population’s devastating decline. It is evident that the elephant is much appreciated for these material and provisioning services. However, elephants also contribute to the maintenance of ecological equilibrium and to the provision of social and cultural services. The forest elephant can be considered a flagship species, as its protection implies the protection of other species in the same ecosystem. Indeed, the elephant disseminates the seeds of impor- tant tropical fleshy fruit trees over long distances and contributes to the regeneration of these tree species throughout the Congo Basin (Beaune et al., 2013; Blake et al., 2009; Wang, 2008). For instance, Baillonella toxisperma (moabi), a traditional multi-use species among 2 CITES stands for Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Signed in Washington, D.C., on 3 March 1973. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.04.004 0921-8009/© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.