Center for Environmental Economics - Montpellier - Monthly Publications feed

From Bites to Ripple Effects: Unraveling the Health, Economic, and Social Effects of Arboviral Epidemics in Mainland France

2026-06-02 11:21:58

Apouey Bénédicte, Raimond Véronique, Rouvière Elodie, Milcent Carine, Roiz David, Salles Jean-Michel, Simard Frédéric, Simonin Yannick, Thuilliez Josselin, Paty Marie-Claire
IJID Regions: 100922
2026

ObjectivesArboviral diseases are posing an increasing burden in temperate regions. This article documents the potential effects of outbreaks and epidemics caused by an arbovirus transmitted by Aedes albopictus, across multiple domains, in mainland France, which has been minimally affected by such outbreaks so far.MethodsWe draw on the knowledge accumulated in mainland French regions that have dealt with limited autochthonous outbreaks, and in the overseas departments and regions of France which are regularly affected by epidemics. We present an original method that combines a systematic review of the literature, the analysis of qualitative data from questionnaires completed by stakeholders, and our expert input.ResultsWe identify several key vulnerabilities such as healthcare strain, economic losses, and social disruption. Our analyses highlight specific risks and preparedness gaps for temperate areas.ConclusionWe underscore the critical importance of allocating sufficient resources to vector management and of developing intersectoral policies to mitigate the effects of future epidemics across several domains.

From pixels to policy: the contributions of open satellite data to land use governance

2026-06-02 11:22:00

Aboueldahab George, Rey-Valette Helene, Salles Jean-Michel, Maurel Pierre, Jabbour Chady, Charleux Amel, Thiérion Vincent
Revue d'économie régionale et urbaine
2026

Direct and indirect deforestation for cocoa in the tropical moist forests of Ghana

2026-06-02 11:22:00

Renier Cécile, Addoah Thomas, Guye Valentin, Garrett Rachael, van den Broeck Goedele, zu Ermgassen Erasmus K H J, Meyfroidt Patrick
Environmental Research: Food Systems 2: 025006
2025

Abstract Across the tropics, cocoa is one of the main drivers of deforestation. In Ghana, the world’s second largest cocoa producer, the role of each of the main economic sectors in driving deforestation remains, however, contested—with cocoa, mining, logging, and plantations each blaming the others. Previous work has also suggested that food crops are displaced into forests by cocoa expansion, raising concerns about indirect land-use change and impacts on food availability. Here, using satellite-based maps and secondary data, we quantify the direct deforestation and forest degradation between 2000 and 2019 in the entire cocoa-growing region of Ghana which is attributed to the land uses (LUs) detected in 2019. Then, we use a land-balance approach to assess the indirect role of the expansion of LUs in deforestation and degradation for food crops. We find that cocoa was the major direct driver over that period (

When Green Policies Backfire: Deforestation and Sri Lanka's Fertilizer Ban *

2026-06-02 11:22:00

Ouedraogo Lauren, Soubeyran Raphael
CEE-M Working papers WP 2026-14: 29 p.
2026

Economic regulations often generate unintended consequences beyond their intended scope. We exploit Sri Lanka's abrupt 2021 nationwide ban on chemical fertilizer imports as a quasi-natural experiment to identify how hard input constraints reshape land-use decisions. Comparing areas differentially exposed based on agronomic suitability for fertilizer-intensive crops, we find a 135% increase in deforestation in high-dependency areas, alongside declining rice yields, consistent with farmers substituting land expansion for lost productivity. Protected areas substantially attenuated this response, nearly fully offsetting the ban's cumulative effect in fully covered cells, suggesting conservation policy provides effective protection when external shocks sharply raise deforestation incentives.

Farmers' Acceptance of Agri-Environmental Auctions: a Survey Experiment

2026-06-09 10:08:23

Coiffard Adrien, Préget Raphaële, Tidball Mabel
CEE-M Working papers WP 2026-15: 47 p.
2026

We conducted a survey experiment with more than 4000 French farmers to investigate their preferences regarding agri-environmental auctions as a mechanism for allocating payments for environmental services. Participants evaluated three hypothetical auction formats: auctions based on payment bids only, auctions based on agri-environmental contract specifications only, and auctions combining both dimensions. These formats were compared with a reference scenario in which both payment and contract specifications were fixed on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. Althought preferences vary substantially across farmers, our results show that agrienvironmental auctions are, on average, preferred to the reference scenario. However, preferences differ significantly across auction formats. In particular, farmers express a stronger preference for auctions that promote competition over contract specifications rather than over payment levels. These findings suggest that farmers' preferences for agri-environmental auctions critically depend on auction design, with important implications for participation in such schemes.