Tritsch Isabelle auteur aut IRD Le Velly G. auteur aut IRD Mertens Benoît auteur aut IRD Meyfroidt P. auteur aut IRD Sannier C. auteur aut IRD Makak J. S. auteur aut IRD Houngbedji Kenneth auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access To allow for the production of timber while preserving conservation values, forestry regulations in the Congo Basin have made Forest Management Plans (FMP) mandatory in logging concessions. This paper uses original high-resolution maps of forest-cover changes and official records on the activities of logging concessions to analyze the impact of FMP on deforestation in this region. We apply quasi-experimental and difference-indifference approaches to evaluate the change in deforestation in concessions managed under an approved FMP. We find that between 2000 and 2010, deforestation was 74% lower in concessions with an FMP compared to others. Building on a theory of change, further analyses revealed that this decrease in deforestation takes time to occur and is highest around communities located in and nearby logging concessions, and in areas close to previous deforestation. These findings suggest that FMP help avoid deforestation by allowing logging companies to rotate cycles of timber extraction, thereby avoiding the overexploitation of areas that were previously logged, and by the better regulation of access to concessions by closing former logging roads to limit illegal activities such as shifting agriculture, hunting and the illegal harvest of timber or fuel-wood. specialized Forest Management Plan FSC Certification Deforestation Matching Congo Basin CAMEROUN CONGO GABON 082 096 175 106660 [13 ] 2020 0921-8009 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010078195 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106660 0921-8009 [F B010078195] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010078195 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/divers20-07/010078195.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2020-07-31 2025-02-24 fdi:010078195 fre