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Learning from Agri-Environment Schemes in Australia Investing in Biodiversity and Other Ecosystem Services on Farms

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Learning from Agri-Environment Schemes in Australia Investing in Biodiversity and Other Ecosystem Services on Farms LEARNING FROM AGRI-ENVIRONMENT SCHEMES IN AUSTRALIA INVESTING IN BIODIVERSITY AND OTHER ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ON FARMS LEARNING FROM AGRI-ENVIRONMENT SCHEMES IN AUSTRALIA INVESTING IN BIODIVERSITY AND OTHER ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ON FARMS Edited by Dean Ansell, Fiona Gibson and David Salt Published by ANU Press The Australian National University Acton ACT 2601, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at press.anu.edu.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Title: Learning from agri-environment schemes in Australia : investing in biodiversity and other ecosystem services on farms / Dean Ansell, Fiona Gibson, David Salt. ISBN: 9781760460150 (paperback) 9781760460167 (ebook) Subjects: Ecosystem services--Australia. Incentives in conservation of natural resources--Australia. Biodiversity--Government policy--Australia Biodiversity--Economic aspects--Australia. Other Creators/Contributors: Ansell, Dean, editor. Gibson, Fiona, editor. Salt, David, editor. Dewey Number: 333.95160994 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design and layout by ANU Press. Cover photograph by David Salt. This edition © 2016 ANU Press Contents Preface . ix List of figures . xiii List of tables and boxes . xvii List of acronyms and abbreviations . xix Contributors . xxi 1 . Introduction: Framing the agri‑environment . 1 Dean Ansell, Fiona Gibson, and David Salt Part I. The agri‑environment in the real world 2 . Working effectively with farmers on agri‑environment investment . 19 Graham Fifield 3 . The Environmental Stewardship Program: Lessons on creating long‑term agri‑environment schemes . 33 Emma Burns, Charlie Zammit, Simon Attwood and David Lindenmayer 4 . Do farmers love brolgas, seagrass and coral reefs? It depends on who’s paying, how much, and for how long! . 53 Geoff Park 5 . The vital role of environmental NGOs: Trusted brokers in complex markets . 67 David Freudenberger 6 . Agricultural land use policy in the European Union: A brief history and lessons learnt . 79 Rob Fraser 7 . A brief history of agri‑environment policy in Australia: From community‑based NRM to market‑based instruments . 91 David Salt Part II. The birds and the beef 8 . Can recognition of ecosystem services help biodiversity conservation? . 107 Saul Cunningham 9 . A perspective on land sparing versus land sharing . 117 Anna Renwick and Nancy Schellhorn 10 . Restoring ecosystem services on private farmlands: Lessons from economics . 127 Md Sayed Iftekhar, Maksym Polyakov and Fiona Gibson 11 . Scaling the benefits of agri‑environment schemes for biodiversity . 139 Geoffrey Kay 12 . Social dimensions of biodiversity conservation programs . 151 Saan Ecker 13 . Contract preferences and psychological determinants of participation in agri‑environment schemes . 163 Romy Greiner 14 . Accounting for private benefits in ecological restoration planning . 181 Maksym Polyakov and David Pannell Part III. Planning, doing and learning 15 . Defining and designing cost‑effective agri‑environment schemes . 193 Dean Ansell 16 . Transaction costs in agri‑environment schemes . 207 Stuart Whitten and Anthea Coggan 17 . What a difference a metric makes: Strong (and weak) metrics for agri‑environment schemes . 219 Fiona Gibson and David Pannell 18 . Public benefits, private benefits, and the choice of policy tool for land‑use change . .. 227 David Pannell 19 . Controls and counterfactual information in agro‑ecological investment . 237 David Duncan and Paul Reich 20 . Achieving greater gains in biodiversity from agri‑environment schemes . 255 Philip Gibbons 21 . Lessons for policy from Australia’s experience with conservation tenders . 265 Graeme Doole and Louise Blackmore 22 . Improving the performance of agri‑environment programs: Reflections on best practice in design and implementation . 279 David Pannell 23 . Conclusion — Elements of good design . 293 Dean Ansell, Fiona Gibson and David Salt Preface In times gone by, environmental issues on farmland were seen largely through the lens of agricultural production — we viewed the problems and their possible solutions in terms of how they affected agricultural outputs. Weeds, pests and erosion were challenges because they reduced the land’s productivity. In recent decades, it has been recognised that farms can deliver much more than the sum of their agricultural products. In Australia, farming landscapes cover more than half our land mass, they provide refuge for many unique native animals and plants, and they are home to people. In acknowledgement of the multiple values associated with farmland, Australian governments have been paying farmers to provide public goods and services for many years. These goods and services include habitat for wildlife, and healthier soil and water quality. Many countries around the world have been doing this too. These government programs have been commonly referred to as agri-environment schemes, as they are about improving environmental values in an agricultural space. The Australian experience goes back a little over a quarter of a century, with well over $7 billion of public money having been invested. Unfortunately, Australia’s National Audit Office has found (repeatedly) that the programs have been unable to demonstrate enduring environmental outcomes. Over the same period, the nation has seen continuing declines in biodiversity, and land and water quality. To turn this around, can we learn from what has been done in the past (both here and overseas)? Agri-environmental policy is an inherently complicated beast, involving a raft of different players, from farmers and conservationists to taxpayers and politicians. Each group brings with it a diverse set ix LEARNING FROM AGRI‑ENvIRONMENT SChEMES IN AUSTRALIA of motivations and interests, including maximising profit, minimising biodiversity loss, and everything in between. A proper evaluation of agri-environment policies, therefore, requires a multi-disciplinary approach. Towards the end of 2014, a group of people interested in biodiversity conservation and agriculture — ecologists, economists, social scientists, practitioners, and policymakers — met at a workshop in Canberra to share their knowledge and experience of agri-environment schemes in Australia. This book draws together the diverse experiences, ideas, and perspectives presented at that meeting. Each chapter presents a different perspective on the challenge of designing and running effective agri-environment schemes. For anyone with an interest or a stake in agri-environment investment in Australia or overseas, we are confident there will be many lessons and insights for you in the following pages. The workshop on lessons from agri-environment schemes was sponsored by the National Environmental Research Program Environmental Decisions Hub with additional financial support from Phil Gibbons (The Australian National University) and Dave Pannell (University of Western Australia). Logistics support was provided by Jane Campbell (University of Queensland). We are also indebted to the Spillers, owners of ‘Woodlands’, for showing us through their Whole of Paddock Rehabilitation site, and also Mick Woods, manager of ‘Woolooware’, for taking the time to show us a Box Gum Grassy Woodland Project site of the Environmental Stewardship Program. Lastly, we also thank Graham Fifield and Greening Australia for providing refreshments and guidance when we visited these two field sites. Dean Ansell, Fiona Gibson, and David Salt1 1 Dean, Fiona, and David jointly managed the workshop that led to this book and shared the jobs of editing and authoring the introductory and concluding chapters. Each claims an equal share of the book and names are ordered alphabetically. x Preface Participants at the 2014 workshop on agri‑environment schemes in Canberra. From left to right: Back row — Angela Newey, Bill Woodruff, Geoff Kay, Graeme Doole, Stuart Whitten, Geoff Park, Sayed Iftekhar, Maksym Polyokov, Dean Ansell, and Emma Burns. Front row — David Salt, Rob Fraser, Graham Fifield, David Duncan, David Pannell, Fiona Gibson, and Phil Gibbons. Source: Photo by David Salt. xi List of figures Participants at the 2014 workshop on agri-environment schemes in Canberra ...................................... xi Figure 1.1: Do our agricultural landscapes hold the key to protecting our declining biodiversity?. 2 Figure 1.2: Agri-environment researchers and practitioners in a five-year-old WOPR site ..........................4 Figure 1.3: An Environmental Stewardship Program site — a box gum grassy woodland in which grazing has been modified to protect the woodland’s natural values .....6 Figure 2.1: Graham Fifield (left) listens to farmer Bob Spiller talking about his experience with Whole of Paddock Rehabilitation ....................................20 Figure 2.2: Over time, landholders have increased the size of their linear plantings . 23 Figure 2.3: A before and after photo of a WOPR project near Bookham, NSW . 27 Figure 3.1: A sign on the gate of a property involved in the Box Gum Grassy Woodland Project . 34 Figure 3.2: A reptile monitoring station within a Box Gum Grassy Woodland Project site ........................38 Figure 3.3: A native skink found in a monitoring station in a Box Gum Grassy Woodland Project site .............43 Figure 4.1: Farmers are better able to engage with environmental
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