On- and Off-site Effectiveness of Soil and Water Conservation in Switzerland - Steps Towards the Integration of Scientific, Experts' and Farmers' Knowledge

• Research unit: FOAG
• Project number: 05.18

Key words (English)

soil erosion; on- and off-site effects; soil and water conservation technologies; approaches; implementation; ecological; economic and social effectiveness; incentives; subsidies; regulations; actor groups; film; from farmer - to farmer

Short description (English)

In recent decades, soil degradation research has focused on degradation processes and in particular on the on-site impacts of soil and water conservation (SWC) technologies on soil erosion and soil fertility. In contrast, little is known about the positive and negative socio-economic effects on the one hand, and the off-site effects of soil erosion and SWC, respectively, on the other hand.
The project is based on a transdisciplinary approach, appreciating that optimal implementation of SWC needs to combine scientific, expert and local knowledge as part of a social learning process involving farmers, researchers, public administration, and relevant representatives of civil society.

Project aims (English)

Therefore, the proposed research project will investigate the effects of SWC, both on-site (farms) and off-site (communities, watersheds) in a more comprehensive manner, i.e. taking into account ecological soundness, economic viability, practicability and social acceptance. It will also seek to determine farmers' rationales for implementing, adapting, innovating with or rejecting SWC (bottom-up approach), taking into account their local knowledge base and critically assessing conventional top-down, regulation and incentive-based and innovative bottom-up, farmer-to-farmer-based approaches of implementation.

Process / State of work (English)

This project will be split into two separate Ph.D. theses with one concept, in order to give due emphasis to both natural and social sciences on the one hand, and to research, policy making and agricultural practice on the other hand.