- a ISARA-Lyon,
Social Sciences Department, Laboratory of Rural Studies, Agrapole, 23
rue Jean Baldassini, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France
- b SUACI Alpes du Nord, GIS Alpes Jura, 40 rue du Terraillet, 73190 Saint Baldoph, France
- c IRSTEA
Center of Grenoble, Mountain Territories Development Research Unit,
Domaine Universitaire, BP 76 – 38402 Saint-Martin d’Hères cedex, France
Highlights
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- We analyse the changes incurred by a result-oriented agri-environmental measure (AEM).
- •
- We observe the development of a social norm in favour of biodiversity.
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- Acceptance of result-oriented AEM by farmers is high.
- •
- The changes of agricultural practices are limited.
- •
- We discuss policy recommendations to improve the efficiency of result-oriented AEM.
Abstract
Maintaining
biodiversity in farming areas has become an important issue. Several
public policies, including agri-environmental measures (AEMs), incite
farmers to adapt their practices to preserve biodiversity. Yet many
authors hold that farmers must undergo a cultural change by developing
an environmental ethic and mind-set in order for these changes in
practice to be sustainable. Looking at this issue from these two
perspectives, via changes to practices and the values and influence of
local social contexts, we analysed the implementation of a new
result-oriented AEM: the “Flowering Meadows” AEM. Covering the Bauges,
Haut-Jura and Vercors Regional Natural Parks in France, the survey was
based on semi-structured interviews with farmers and other stakeholders
such as environmentalists and local elected officials. We will show how
the various actions accompanying this measure (training sessions, the
“Flowering Meadows” competition, etc.) led to a consensus on the
positive values of biodiversity. Although farmers committed to this
measure for a variety of reasons (economic, environmental and social),
most welcomed the idea of result-oriented payments, which they
interpreted as a sign acknowledging their skills and knowledge. Changes
to farming practices have nevertheless been limited to date. Here we
show that the “Flowering Meadows” measure's innovation, together with
the various actions to promote it, lies in its ability to build a
positive social norm with respect to “meadow flowers,” seen as a symbol
of biodiversity, rather than in its limited impact on changing farming
practices. In conclusion, we discuss the potential of result-oriented
agri-environmental schemes and their policy implications, as well as
their outlooks. The particular way in which a result-oriented AEM is
implemented is vital to its success in biodiversity conservation, and we
make three recommendations for its improvement: anticipating a
two-level payment structure better rewarding farmers who have improved
biodiversity; paying particular attention to the formulation of a
wording expressing the measure's finality in which all actors, not only
environmentalists, may find their place; and keeping flexibility in the
measure's implementation to account for the local context (existing
networks of actors, intensity and quality of relations between farmers
and other stakeholders). Instead of looking exclusively at the payment
structure – that is, the result- and/or action-oriented AEM – our
approach encourages a broad perspective on the conception of
pro-biodiversity measures at the scale of an AEM scheme combining
several actions: the AEM per se, plus other actions including training, education, advising and support for new governance processes.
Keywords
- Permanent meadows;
- Biodiversity;
- Result-oriented agri-environmental scheme;
- On-farm acceptance;
- Behaviour change;
- Interdisciplinarity
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