Hill Farm Economics Upland Landscapes and Biodiversity University
Hill Farm Economics, Upland Landscapes and Biodiversity • University of Sheffield – Paul Armsworth – Kevin Gaston – Martin Dallimer • University of Nottingham – Paul Wilson • University of Stirling – Nick Hanley – Szvetlana Acs – Dugald Tinch • Moors for the Future – Aletta Bonn
Economic Condition of Hill Farming • Many farms depend on subsidy support and will respond to subsidy changes. • “Farming as at present will not be sustainable in the Peak District” Peak District Rural Deprivation Forum 2004
Ecological Condition of the Uplands
Project Aims • To understand hill farm responses to changing conditions, and impacts on uplandscapes and biodiversity • To develop new techniques for analysing economic and ecological interactions among farms • To examine public understanding of and preferences for contrasting moorland futures • To examine the performance of alternative policy interventions
Drivers of Change • Historical – How have farm businesses responded to the changing rural economic climate? – How has the distribution of habitats changed? • Geographic – Quantify role of environmental factors in constraining production choices
Farm-scale • Economic – Surveys examining farm production decisions and farmers’ perceptions • Ecological – Surveys of bird behaviour, distribution and abundance on moorland fringe habitats • Coupled farm-scale models – Mapping economic drivers through to landscape and biodiversity change MAN. SHE.
Landscape-scale • Economic spillovers – Leasing grazing rights – Sheep trespass – Land purchase • Ecological spillovers – Response of birds to landscape context and connectivity • Landscape-scale modelling – Coupling farm-scale models in space
Policy Analysis • Valuation Workshops – How do people value alternative moorland futures (envisioned in terms of landscape, biodiversity, livestock, rural livelihoods). • Policy Design – How effective are different policy designs at delivering them? (Ongoing changes as well as novel incentive designs)
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