Evaluating farmers' likely participation in a payment programme for water quality protection in the UK uplands

TY - JOUR

T1 - Evaluating farmers' likely participation in a payment programme for water quality protection in the UK uplands

AU - Beharry-Borg, Nesha

AU - Smart, James C.R.

AU - Termansen, Mette

AU - Hubacek, Klaus

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - Maintaining drinking water quality is essential to water companies and their customers, and agricultural non-point source pollution is a major cause of water quality degradation. In this paper, we examine the potential use of payments financed by a water company as incentives for farmers to adjust their agricultural land management practices in order to protect water quality. We use a choice experiment (CE) to measure farmers' minimum willingness to accept (WTA) requirements to adjust agricultural land management practices in Nidderdale and the Washburn valley (Yorkshire, UK) under a potential local payment for ecosystem services (PES) programme. Latent class analysis of farmers' CE responses was used to quantify the size and spread of farmers' preferences and minimum WTA values for compensation payments, and to investigate potential drivers of preference variation. Analysis suggested that the emphasis on sheep or cattle/dairy production within mixed farming businesses in this area provides a partial explanation for the considerable observed heterogeneity in preferences and minimum WTA requirements for participation in a potential PES programme.

AB - Maintaining drinking water quality is essential to water companies and their customers, and agricultural non-point source pollution is a major cause of water quality degradation. In this paper, we examine the potential use of payments financed by a water company as incentives for farmers to adjust their agricultural land management practices in order to protect water quality. We use a choice experiment (CE) to measure farmers' minimum willingness to accept (WTA) requirements to adjust agricultural land management practices in Nidderdale and the Washburn valley (Yorkshire, UK) under a potential local payment for ecosystem services (PES) programme. Latent class analysis of farmers' CE responses was used to quantify the size and spread of farmers' preferences and minimum WTA values for compensation payments, and to investigate potential drivers of preference variation. Analysis suggested that the emphasis on sheep or cattle/dairy production within mixed farming businesses in this area provides a partial explanation for the considerable observed heterogeneity in preferences and minimum WTA requirements for participation in a potential PES programme.

KW - Heterogeneous preferences

KW - Land management incentives

KW - Latent class model

KW - Payments for ecosystem services

KW - WTA

U2 - 10.1007/s10113-012-0282-9

DO - 10.1007/s10113-012-0282-9

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:84878592108

SN - 1436-3798

VL - 13

SP - 633

EP - 647

JO - Regional Environmental Change

JF - Regional Environmental Change

IS - 3

ER -