Should historic sites protection be targeted at the most famous? Evidence from a contingent valuation in Scotland

We used a contingent valuation survey of a random sample of the general public living in Scotland to estimate how willingness to pay (WTP) for the conservation of historic sites (such as castles and stone circles) varies with how well-known these sites are and whether people have visited them. Each respondent was asked to state a maximum WTP in terms of higher income taxes for the conservation of two sites, one of which was “famous” and one of which was less well-known. The hypothetical scenario involved payment to avoid future damage to each site. When observable differences in respondent characteristics are controlled for, we found no significant differences in mean WTP across sites. However, a significant effect was found for respondent familiarity with each site (in terms of recognising it on a photograph), with sites which respondents were more familiar with attracting higher WTP values. Distance effects on WTP were mixed: significant effects of distance of the site from respondents’ homes were only found for the less well-known sites, but not for famous sites. The main conclusions of the study were that (i) the Scottish general public are willing to pay for the conservation of historic sites and that (ii) such values exist as much for less well-known sites as for famous sites. This implies that public funds should not be allocated solely to conservation of the best-known sites

Nudging farmers to enrol land into agri-environmental schemes : the role of a collective bonus

This survey was funded by the ONEMA in the framework of the 2011 call for research projects ‘Changer les pratiques agricoles pour préserver les services écosystémiques’, supporting the implementation of the French National Action plan Ecophyto 2018.This article shows that the introduction of a conditional collective bonus in an agri-environmental scheme (AES) can improve farmers’ participation and increase land enrolment for lower overall budgetary costs. This monetary bonus is paid in addition to the usual AES payment if a given threshold is reached in terms of aggregate farmer participation. Using a choice experiment, we estimate the preferences of winegrowers in the South of France for such a bonus. We show that it contributes to increased expectations of farmers on others’ participation, therefore shifting a pro-environmental social norm and favouring the adoption of less pesticide-intensive farming practices.PostprintPeer reviewe

Do European agri-environment measures help reduce herbicide use? Evidence from viticulture in France

Funding for this research was provided by the French Agency for Water and Aquatic Environments (1073/2012) (ONEMA) as part of the 2011 call for projects ‘Changer les pratiques agricoles pour preserver les services ecosystemiques' supporting the implementation of the French National Action plan Ecophyto 2018. This paper was partly funded by the Rural & Environment Science & Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Government.Agri-environmental schemes (AES) are a central component of the European environmental policy, but few of these schemes have been carefully evaluated and doubts are often expressed about their effectiveness. We use original data collected from winegrowers who participated in an AES targeting non-point source pollution from herbicides in 2011 and 2012 in the South region of France. Using the variation in the implementation of the scheme across time and space and a matching approach, we show that the quantity of herbicides used by participants in the scheme in 2011 ranges from 38 to 53% below what they would have used without the scheme and this percentage is between 42 and 50% in 2012. Further, our results suggest that least demanding AES options are effective in avoiding pollution peaks when weed pressure is high, whereas more demanding AES options guarantee an overall reduction in herbicide use, even during relatively easy farming years in which less weed pressure is experienced.PostprintPeer reviewe

A FEW NOTES ABOUT THE BELL-TOWER OF THE ST. DOMINIC CHURCH IN DUBROVNIK

The article deals with the final stage of the construction of the bell-tower belonging to the Church of St. Domenic in Dubrovnik, the construction as such having been studied by Cvito Fisković. The to-day’s Baroque top of the bell-tower was added in the course of repairs executed following the damages caused by earthquakes in the 17th and 18th centuries. Concentrating his attention on two marginal notes contained in a document from 1443 (publiched by Fisković), the authoress is particularly attracted by a detail in the history of tower-building by stages, trying to find out the probable appearance of the original 15th century top stage that had been destroyed. The study bases on records newly discovered in the archives. According to a statement contained in a contact dated in March, 1944, we find that the bell-tower was completed at that time. Some light is thrown by that document on the bell-tower belonging to the up to now uncertainly located cathedral church of St. Mary at Ulcinj, known only from sources. Master Peter, a Dominican friar, and his son Nicholas, glazier and vitroist, signed a contract undertaking to build the top stage of the mentioned bell-tower patterned after the Dubrovnik one. The appearance of the pre-earthquake bell-tower at Dubrovnik is not known, but it may be reconstructed from a few sources and pictures of Dubrovnik from the time before the earthquake. The height of the top stage amounted to 7 metres, which lent to the tower a Gothic accent – an alongated four-sided pyramid without adornments. From old panoramic views of Dubrovnik, we know that the bell-tower top was covered, but whether it was with stone slabs or lead sheets, or tiles, we cannot say. The authorship of the Dubrovnik tower is finally questioned in the article, i. e. whether is had been built by the mentioned friar Peter, who, thanks to the experience gained, was later invited to construct also the top section of the bell-tower of the Ulcinj cathedral

Nudges, social norms and permanence in agri-environmental schemes

The permanence of land management practices adopted under Agri-environmental schemes (AES) is often questioned. This paper investigates the drivers of farmers’ decision as to whether to maintain “pro-environment” practices beyond the duration of a contract, and in particular the effect of social norms. Our results, based on the stated intentions of 395 French farmers, show that both pecuniary and non-pecuniary motivations drive farmers’ decision, which is also significantly influenced by information about a social norm. Therefore “nudging” farmers, by conveying information to them on other farmers’ pro-environmental practices, appears as a means of maintaining the long-run benefits of AES.PostprintPeer reviewe

Water for all : towards an integrated approach to wetland conservation and flood risk reduction in a lowland catchment in Scotland

Authors thanks Rural & Environment Science & Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Government (SEFARI) project number S100015-00 for funding this work.Strategies for sustainable water resources management require integration of hydrological, ecological and socio-economic concerns. The “Water for all” project has sought to develop a multi-disciplinary science case for innovative management of water levels and flows in a lowland catchment in Scotland. Water demands of arable agriculture, protection from flood risk and conservation needs of lowland mesotrophic wetlands needed to be considered. Water management strategy focused on the outlet zone of Balgavies lake in Eastern Scotland, where the Lunan Water discharges into a partially confined common channel (lade). Water releases to a mill, to the downstream river, and to floodplain wetlands (Chapel Mires) are partially controlled by an existing weir. Based on observations of management of this weir, we postulated that upgrading hydraulic management in this zone could reduce upstream flood risk, help protect mesotrophic wetlands and facilitate downstream water supply at low flows. We considered potential for: (a) installing a remotely operated tilting weir, for improved management of release and routing of flows from the common lade; (b) dredging of the common lade in combination or instead of the tilting weir. Rapid ecological assessment and mixing analysis of the Lunan Water with waters in Chapel Mires showed a gradient of trophic status across the wetlands linked to impact of river-borne nutrients. Stage-discharge relationships, derived from steady-state approximations of the in-channel hydraulics, showed that the proposed tilting weir had potential to divert seasonal nutrient rich water from the upstream Lake away from Chapel Mires. Significant impact of the proposed weir on upstream flood risk was not demonstrated, but carrying out dredging of the channel reduced the current observed probability of upstream flooding. The proposed weir could help to maintain these dredging benefits. Survey and interviews with catchment stakeholders and residents showed constructive interest in the scheme, with half of the respondents willing to pay to support its implementation. The survey also revealed concerns about the proposed project, especially its long-term governance. The lessons learned have wider relevance to development of an integrated approach to water ecosystem services provision, especially where benefits are uncertain and thinly spread across a range of users.PostprintPeer reviewe

Can economic experiments contribute to a more effective CAP?

In order to keep pace with the evolution of the objectives and means of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, evaluation tools also need to adapt. A set of tools that have proved highly effective in other policy fields is economic experiments. These allow the testing of a new policy before its implementation, provide evidence of its specific effects, and identify behavioural dimensions that can influence policy outcomes. We argue that agricultural policy should be subject to economic experiments, providing examples to illustrate how they can inform CAP design. We identify the additional efforts needed to establish further proof-of-concept, by running more – and more robust – experiments related to the CAP. This can happen only by integrating experimental evaluation results within the policy cycle and addressing ethical and practical challenges seriously. To do so, researchers would benefit from a concerted European effort to promote the methodology across the EU; organise the replication in time and across Europe of experiments relevant for the CAP; and build a multi-national panel of farmers willing to participate in experiments. Steps are being taken in this direction by the Research Network of Economics Experiments for CAP evaluation (REECAP)

Benefits of adapting to sea level rise : the importance of ecosystem services in the French Mediterranean sandy coastline

This article proposes an innovative approach to assess the benefits of adapting to sea level rise (SLR) in a coastal area on a regional scale. The valuation framework integrates coastal ecosystem services, together with urban and agricultural assets. We simulate the impacts of a progressive 1 m rise in sea level in the twenty-first century and an extreme flooding event in 2100 for four contrasted adaptation scenarios (Denial, “Laissez-faire”, Protection and Retreat). The assessment involves coupling the results of hazard-modelling approaches with different economic valuation methods, including direct damage functions and methods used in environmental economics. The framework is applied to the French Mediterranean sandy coastline. SLR will result in major land-use changes at the 2100 time horizon: relocation or densification of urban areas, loss of agricultural land, increase in lagoon areas and modification of wetlands (losses, migration or extension of ecosystems). Total benefits of public adaptation options planned in advance could reach €31.2 billion for the period 2010–2100, i.e. €69,000 per inhabitant (in the study area) in 2010 or €135 million/km of coastline. Our results highlight the importance of (i) raising awareness to ensure that public services and coastal managers can anticipate the consequences of SLR and (ii) incorporating coastal ecosystems into the assessment of the adaptation options. Our findings could provide a basis for participatory foresight approaches to build coastline adaptation pathways.PostprintPeer reviewe

Preferences for coastal and marine conservation in Vietnam: Accounting for differences in individual choice set formation

This paper has two objectives. The first is to estimate the value of implementing new coastal and marine conservation measures in Vietnam, focussing on the relative benefits of water quality improvements, coral conservation and control of marine plastic pollution. The second is to explicitly model any tendency of respondents to fail to give consideration to the “opt-out” or status quo option in a choice experiment, due to social and cultural factors. The analysis employs the independent availability logit model with random coefficients to simultaneously account for heterogeneity of preferences and choice set formation. Results show significantly improved model fit when consideration set heterogeneity is taken into account. However, estimates of preference weights and marginal willingness to pay for marine conservation measures are unaffected by this modelling choice