Does dam-based irrigation affect the sustainability of natural capital ?: A doubly robust analysis

Abstract

This study assesses the impact of dam-based irrigation on the adoption of management practices for sustaining the natural capital of a region, with a focus on soil and water resources, using survey data from 1020 farmlands in northwestern Tunisia. Because treatment effect estimates are frequently prone to misspecification in either the treatment or outcome models, we use the doubly-robust inverse probability weighted regression adjustment estimator on four soil and water sustaining agricultural practices. As a robustness check, we also apply propensity score matching, with both methods consistently indicating a positive impact of dam irrigation on the adoption of these practices. Overall, these findings emphasize the indirect positive ecological effects of dams on a region's natural capital sustainability.