Merit Based Income from Sustainable Land Management in Mountain Farming (MERIT)

• Research unit: FOAG
• Project number: 12.27_1

Key words (German)

Berglandwirtschaft, EU, nachhaltiges Landmanagement, Management von Ökosystemleistungen

Key words (English)

mountain farming, EU, sustainable land management, management of ecosystem services

Key words (French)

agriculture de montagne, UE, gestion durable des terres, gestion des services écosystémiques

Short description (German)

At the moment EU member states are developing new agro-environmental schemes for the period 2014-2020. Pilot projects on outcome-orientated nature protection have been implemented. This innovative system is handing over more responsibility to farmers for managing their land considering biodiversity and ecosystem services. The general idea is to agree with farmers on outcome and results in terms of quality/quantity of species and habitats, water, erosion or biodiversity.
The aim of the project is providing recommendations for enhancing vitality of mountain farming also regarding new sources for funding farms such as private food sector. It is also crucial to analyze during the project, how and in which way farmers can take over more responsibility for sustainable land management and management of ecosystem services.

Methods (English)

Interviews with semi-structured questionnaire (21 farmers)
Interviews with a written quantitative survey (146 farmers)

Project aims (German)

The aim of the project is providing recommendations for enhancing vitality of mountain farming also regarding new sources for funding farms such as private food sector. It is also crucial to analyze during the project, how and in which way farmers can take over more responsibility for sustainable land management and management of ecosystem services.

Customers / Reporting (German)

Work Package Reports, Schlussbericht und Handbuch liegen dem BLW vor und sind auf der Homepage des Projektes abrufbar:

http://www.umweltbuero-klagenfurt.at/merit/media.php

Diverse Publikationen wurden in landwirtschaftlichen und wissenschaftlichen Zeitschriften veröffentlicht. Das Handbuch wird aktuell auf Deutsch übersetzt.

Über ein Userforum werden Regierungsvertreter und Stakeholder über die Projektergebnisse informiert und zur Diskussion eingeladen. Die Projektergebnisse stehen im Rahmen des Userforums für die zukünftige Entwicklung von Agrarumweltprogrammen zur Verfügung.

Publications / Results (German)

Das Handbuch „Result-oriented Measures for Biodiversity in Mountain Farming“ liefert auf anschauliche Weise Empfehlungen für eine effektive Ausgestaltung und Implementierung von resultatorientierten Agrarumweltmassnahmen und richtet sich an Entscheidungsträger aus Politik, Verwaltung, Bauernverbänden und anderen Organisationen. In der Schweiz werden zwar bei den Biodiversitätsförderflächen auf Qualitätsstufe 2 und teilweise bei Vernetzungsprojekten resultatorientierte Direktzahlungen vergeben, doch aufgrund der geringen Akzeptanz bei den Landwirten, braucht es einige Anstrengungen, damit ein Paradigmenwechsel stattfinden wird. Das Handbuch bietet dazu eine gute Grundlage.

Publications / Results (English)

The project revealed that generally, half of the interviewed farmers are satisfied with current payment systems, but many would expect additional incentives to implement new measures. Farmers' motivation to adopt agri-environmental measures is mainly driven by economic interest and a desire to protect the environment. Even though farmers see constraints in implementing result-oriented measures, many would prefer this approach due to the easier implementation. The flexibility in choosing and adapting measures could motivate more farmers to participate. However, for efficient implementation of result-oriented measures, farmers need support in terms of advice and training. Furthermore, result-oriented measures require the farmer to take more responsibility for biodiversity management of the farm. In Switzerland, 75% of the farmers prefer action-oriented measures.

During the field analysis on 1222 plots, 935 phytosociological surveys, 770 flower color surveys and 172 butterfly surveys were carried out. Farms in Vercers were found to have a very extensive management and the highest biodiversity. Carinthia has an average livestock density and a mean biodiversity quality. The Upper Allgäu, South Tyrol and the Entlebuch/Lucerne Hinterland have the highest land use intensity resulting in a lower biodiversity on these farms compared with the other case study regions.

In the light of increasing pressure of the public to improve effectiveness of agri­environmental measures, the acceptance of farmers and administrations towards result­oriented schemes might increase in the future. The project results concluded in a Policy Handbook with recommendations which are summarized in eight golden rules.

1. Make biodiversity an issue
2. Design your programme at the regional level
3. Choose indicators which are reliable and appropriate
4. Pay attention to the implementation at the administrative level
5. Payments are a main incentive
6. Farmers’ knowledge about biodiversity is essential
7. Make farmers’ efforts visible to consumers and society
8. Evaluate the success of your programme