TY - JOUR

T1 - Viewpoints on Cooperative Peatland Management

T2 - Expectations and Motives of Dutch Farmers

AU - Norris, Johanna

AU - Matzdorf, Bettina

AU - Barghusen, Rena

AU - Schulze, Christoph

AU - van Gorcum, Bart

N1 - Funding Information: Funding: This research was made possible in part through funding by the PEATWISE project under the FACCE ERA-GAS Research Programme (under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research & Innovation Programme, grant agreement No 696356).

PY - 2021/12/2

Y1 - 2021/12/2

N2 - The European Union (EU) is globally the second highest emitter of greenhouse gases from drained peatlands. On the national level, 15% of agricultural peat soils in the Netherlands are responsible for 34% of agricultural emissions. Crucial to any successful policy is a better understanding of the behavioral change it will bring about among the target groups. Thus, we aim to explore farmers’ differing viewpoints to discuss how policy and planning can be improved to ensure landscape-scale climate mitigation on agriculturally used peatlands. Q methodology was used to interview fifteen farmers on Dutch peat soils, whereby 37 statements were ranked in a grid according to their level of agreement. Factor analysis revealed three main viewpoints: farmers with a higher peat proportion show an urgency in continuing to use their land (‘cooperative businesspeople’), while ‘independent opportunists’ are wary of cooperation compromising their sense of autonomy. Farmers who are ‘conditional land stewards’ are open to agriculture without drainage but require appropriate payments to do so. Future policy design must focus on providing support to farmers that go beyond compensation payments by providing information about funding sources as well as potential business models for peatland uses with raised water tables.

AB - The European Union (EU) is globally the second highest emitter of greenhouse gases from drained peatlands. On the national level, 15% of agricultural peat soils in the Netherlands are responsible for 34% of agricultural emissions. Crucial to any successful policy is a better understanding of the behavioral change it will bring about among the target groups. Thus, we aim to explore farmers’ differing viewpoints to discuss how policy and planning can be improved to ensure landscape-scale climate mitigation on agriculturally used peatlands. Q methodology was used to interview fifteen farmers on Dutch peat soils, whereby 37 statements were ranked in a grid according to their level of agreement. Factor analysis revealed three main viewpoints: farmers with a higher peat proportion show an urgency in continuing to use their land (‘cooperative businesspeople’), while ‘independent opportunists’ are wary of cooperation compromising their sense of autonomy. Farmers who are ‘conditional land stewards’ are open to agriculture without drainage but require appropriate payments to do so. Future policy design must focus on providing support to farmers that go beyond compensation payments by providing information about funding sources as well as potential business models for peatland uses with raised water tables.

KW - Cooperation

KW - Farmer motivation

KW - Landscape-scale approach

KW - Peat

KW - Q method

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121596882&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/land10121326

DO - 10.3390/land10121326

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85121596882

VL - 10

JO - Land

JF - Land

IS - 12

M1 - 1326

ER -