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• Leisher, C
• Samberg, LH.
• Van Buekering, P
• Sanjayan, M
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• Leisher, C
• Samberg, LH.
• Van Buekering, P
• Sanjayan, M
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• Leisher, C
• Samberg, LH.
• Van Buekering, P
• Sanjayan, M

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Sustainability 2013, 5(3), 997-1010; doi:10.3390/su5030997

Article

Focal Areas for Measuring the Human Well-Being Impacts of a Conservation Initiative

Craig Leisher ^1,* , Leah H. Samberg ² , Pieter Van Buekering ³  and M. Sanjayan ¹

¹ Central Science, The Nature Conservatory, 4245 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203, USA ² Consultant, 2312 Skyline Drive, Missoula, MT 59802, USA ³ Department of Environmental Economics, Institute for Environmental Studies, VU University, de Boelelann 1105, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 31 December 2012; in revised form: 8 February 2013 / Accepted: 16 February 2013 / Published: 6 March 2013

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Measuring Socio-Economic Well-Being)

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Abstract: Within conservation, the need to measure the impacts on people from conservation initiatives such as projects and programs is growing, but understanding and measuring the multidimensional impacts on human well-being from conservation initiatives is complex. To understand the constituent components of human well-being and identify which components of well-being are most common, we analyzed 31 known indices for measuring human well-being. We found 11 focal areas shared by two or more indices for measuring human well-being, and the focal areas of living standards, health, education, social cohesion, security, environment, and governance were in at least 14 of the 31 human well-being indices. We examined each of the common focal areas and assessed its relevance to measuring the human well-being impacts of a conservation initiative. We then looked for existing indices that include the relevant focal areas and recommend the use of Stiglitz et al. (2009)—a framework designed to measure economic performance and social progress—as a starting place for understanding and selecting human well-being focal areas suitable for measuring the impacts on people from a conservation initiative.

Keywords: socio-economic; poverty; measurement; biodiversity; subjective; objective

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