Household deforestation decisions in the Ecuadorian tropical lowland rainforests

Households close to forests under incentive-based conservation in the Central Amazon are less likely to deforest, evidencing a positive side-effect and promising signal for incentive programs. • In the Northern Coast households in the buffer zone of the protected area are more likely to deforest, evidencing a higher pressure on remnant forests which calls for more policy enforcement in highly populated areas. • Land titling significantly influences deforestation decisions in the Northern Coast, where a considerable number of households are living on untitled lands.