Cost-benefit analysis of red deer conservation in Sardinia

Biodiversity provides important ecosystem services and economic benefits to local communities and is globally considered a key resource for sustainable development. Here, we attempt to measure costs and benefits of the conservation of Sardinian red deer, a subspecies endemic to Sardinia and Corsica. At the beginning of 1980 the Corsican red deer, Cervus elaphus corsicanus, was seriously threatened to extinction. A series of conservation measures and reintroductions allowed the population to recover, and more than 1000 rutting males and 5000 individuals are present in Sardinia. The population is still very localised and fragmented but in some areas local populations reach very high densities (up to 26 deer/Km2). Such densities are reassuring from a conservation standpoint. On the other hand, in these localities local communities are starting to experience the economic cost of red deer conservation as direct damages to agriculture and forestry, and road collisions. It is likely that in the future red deer management in Sardinia will have to take into account for higher costs and harvesting could be a valid management option. Based on time series data, we estimated red deer population growth parameters according to a logistic function. Different hypotheses about population growth were evaluated by model selection based on AIC. Costs of deer conservation were esti mated based on resources employed in reintroduction and monitoring program, and in managing damage