IMPERATA ECONOMICS AND POLICY

Should policymakers - or anyone else - care about millions of ha of Im perata grasslands? The answer depends on the balance between costs of conversion to other uses and the net benefits produced in economic gro wth, poverty alleviation, and protection of the environment. The first section on Imperata economics sets up the analytical framework to add ress this question and draws on the wider development economics litera ture to consider whether growth and poverty alleviation are conflictin g or complementary objectives. Although evidence is limited, it sugges ts smallholder-based agroforestry could provide the same economic grow th with greater poverty alleviation than large-scale forestry estates. There is, however, no substitute for project appraisal for specific s ettings. The second section on Imperata policy reviews whether policy distortions and market failures provide a sufficient rationale for dir ect policy intervention to promote tree planting on Imperata grassland s. Estimates of imputed values of carbon sequestration to alleviate gl obal warming are presented for Acacia mangium and rubber agroforestry. The conclusion summarizes the policy research agenda and examines the desirability and feasibility of policy intervention to promote carbon sequestration through Imperata grassland conversion to tree-based sys tems.