Abstract
Most monitoring and evaluation programmes for agri-environment schemes focus on understanding the environmental outcomes and the cost-effectiveness of these schemes. Evaluation of the social dimensions of agri-environment schemes, particularly the socio-cultural factors that might influence the quality of engagement with the schemes and the social wellbeing impact of scheme engagement, is limited. This is a critical gap in knowledge as there is growing recognition that without more explicit consideration of the farmers involved in land management as agents of change, the required environmental improvements will not be achieved. The aim of this paper was to undertake a systematic literature review to inform the development of a set of social indicators that can be used to measure the level of farmers’ engagement with their scheme agreement and the social sustainability outcomes from participation. Following the literature review and a short-listing ranking exercise with two sets of experts, 20 high-level (composite) social indicators and associated sub-level (component) indicators were identified. A series of scale or ranking questions that can be used to capture the indicator data were also developed and tested. This paper presents the first stage in the development of a robust set of social indicators for agri-environment schemes that will also provide a good indicator of long-term environmental outcomes.
Highlights
Agri-environment schemes (AESs), whereby farmers are paid for voluntarily undertaking specified environmental actions, formalised as an agreement between the farmer and the State, were first introduced in Europe in the 1980s due to concerns about environmental damage from agricultural intensification
Despite increasing evidence that the quality of AES engagement influences the quality of environmental outcomes, there is still a paucity of research exploring the social dimensions of AESs, the socio-cultural factors that might influence the quality
This paper aimed to identify social indicators that can be used to measure the impact of AESs in terms of improved quality of AES engagement and social outcomes
Summary
Agri-environment schemes (AESs), whereby farmers are paid for voluntarily undertaking specified environmental actions, formalised as an agreement between the farmer and the State, were first introduced in Europe in the 1980s due to concerns about environmental damage from agricultural intensification. Union (EU) Member States to monitor and evaluate the impacts of their agri-environment programmes using a Common Monitoring and Evaluation Programme for Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) [1]. A wealth of research has explored the environmental and agricultural impact of AESs across the United Kingdom and Europe [3,4]. Despite increasing evidence that the quality of AES engagement (between the agreement holder and their agreement) influences the quality of environmental outcomes, there is still a paucity of research exploring the social dimensions of AESs, the socio-cultural factors that might influence the quality
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