Factors affecting farmers' willingness to participate in eutrophication mitigation : a case study of preferences for wetland creation in Sweden

• Local stakeholder participation in water management is emphasized in the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). Wetland creation to mitigate nutrient leakage from agriculture is one example where participation of local farmers is needed. In this case study of the Himmerfjärden coastal catchment area, south of Stockholm, Sweden, we assessed both the importance of several demo-graphic factors, and of the main subsidy factors in the present Agri-Environmental Scheme (AES) for their effects on farmers’ willingness to create wetlands on their farms. The farm and farmer characteristics analyzed were age, gender, knowledge of the WFD, education, farm size, land ownership, current measures to reduce nutrient leakage and trust for other actors. The main factors from the AES were defined as five attributes in a discrete choice experiment approach related to the current agri-environmental policy instrument for wetland creation applied in the area. The results showed that approximately 30 % of the farmers were interested in wetland creation at their farms. The most common reason for not wanting to create a wetland was economic cost. Males were significantly more willing than females to create wetlands. Younger farmers were significantly more willing than older. Prior knowledge of the WFD increased willingness almost threefold, and land owners were significantly more willing than leaseholders. The choice experiment showed that higher cost ceiling for subsidies, higher compensation percentage and higher annual subsidies can significantly increase the willingness to create wetlands. However to attract also the remaining 70% of all farmers to join the AES we must look at other options than only using action based AES.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

stakeholder participation; water management; eutrophication; wetland creation; agri-environmental schemes

Land and Water Resources Engineering

Mark- och vattenteknik

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

ovr (ämneskategori)