美国土地休耕保护计划的制度设计及若干启示

探索实行耕地轮作休耕制度试点,是国家一项部署。美国实施土地休耕保护计划已经30多年,本文通过分析美国土地休耕保护计划的关注目标、基本程序、规模、投入等基本情况,认为美国的主要政策手段是审慎确定休耕规模、科学的评价指标、市场竞标机制、精准化和差异化的补贴机制、现代科技手段等。在借鉴美国经验的基础上,本文提出了我国开展耕地轮作休耕的几点思考与启示。     

美国生态修复政策及其对我国林业重点工程的借鉴

美国自20世纪30年代以来,为遏制由于大规模土地开发导致的土壤表层侵蚀等生态退化,实施了一系列政策保护生态,防止水土流失,其中影响较大的包括土地休耕保护计划(CRP)、环境质量激励计划(EQIP)和保护支持计划(CSP)。通过分析三个计划的具体运作和实施成效,并结合我国林业重点工程的实施现状,提出一些政策建议。     

美国休耕保护项目问题研究(续二)

面对粮食供给过剩和急需改善生态环境,美国国会通过的1985年农业法案确定,于1986年正式启动休耕保护项目(CRP)。通过对美国1985、1990、1996、2002和2008年农业法案有关休耕保护项目政策调整过程的介绍,详尽地分析了美国休耕保护项目的区域和类型分布情况、实施标准的演化、环境收益指数的构成及其在决定参与休耕保护项目中的作用、休耕保护计划竞价过程与补贴,以及影响休耕计划的利益集团及其可能对他们所产生的影响。在此基础上,分析了美国休耕保护项目所产生的社会、经济与生态环境影响,进而分析了如果停止休耕可能带来的影响。     

美国休耕保护项目问题研究(续一)

面对粮食供给过剩和急需改善生态环境,美国国会通过的1985年农业法案确定,于1986年正式启动休耕保护项目(CRP)。通过对美国1985、1990、1996、2002和2008年农业法案有关休耕保护项目政策调整过程的介绍,详尽地分析了美国休耕保护项目的区域和类型分布情况、实施标准的演化、环境收益指数的构成及其在决定参与休耕保护项目中的作用、休耕保护计划竞价过程与补贴,以及影响休耕计划的利益集团及其可能对他们所产生的影响。在此基础上,分析了美国休耕保护项目所产生的社会、经济与生态环境影响,进而分析了如果停止休耕可能带来的影响。     

美国休耕制度及其对中国耕地休耕制度构建的启示

[目的]对美国休耕制度进行解读,并通过对制度文本的系统梳理和对比分析,为中国休耕制度的构建提供参考坐标。[方法]采用文献分析法和对比分析法。[结果]通过文献解读发现:(1)美国休耕立法经历了初步确立、快速发展和调整完善3个阶段;(2)美国休耕制度的政府补贴具有多元的特性,包括土地租金、成本分摊、技术援助、额外奖励和税收抵扣;(3)美国在实施休耕制度时强调计划与市场结合;(4)美国休耕制度的重心最终落脚于实现有机农业转移。[结论]根据这4项研究发现,中国在构建耕地休耕制度的过程中:首先,应逐次建构以休耕为主要内容的法律法规体系;其次,在结合多方财政系统的基础上,建立多元化、差异化、动态化、奖惩结合的休耕补贴机制;再次,需要计划和市场的有机结合,强化计划安排的同时激励农户自觉参与休耕,主动提升耕地地力;最后,休耕制度重心的落脚点应与有机农业发展的趋势相契合。     

发达国家“耕地休养”综述及对中国的启示

本文综述了美国、欧盟和日本的"耕地休养"的政策背景、政策执行方式和政策影响以及对中国"耕地休养"政策的启示。美国休耕政策通过农民自愿申请、政府审批、合同管理等手段实施休耕,达到了既控制粮食产量又保护了生态环境的目的;欧盟在世界贸易的压力下,根据世界粮食市场供需情况决定是否推行强制性休耕。日本通过休耕转作降低水稻种植面积减少水稻产量以保护大米高价格保护稻农利益。发达国家的经验表明,中国推行耕地休养应以粮食安全为前提;应以"藏粮于土、藏粮于水"和环境效益为基本目标;应创新管理方式,充分尊重农民意愿,保障农民权益;应采用农业补贴方式,促进休耕和保障休耕后耕地管理;应加强休耕地的管理,避免土地抛荒引起新的生态破坏;应有利于农业的专业化和适度规模化,有利于提高农业的竞争力。     

国内外耕地轮作休耕的实践比较及政策启示

[目的]耕地具有农业生产、生态景观和生态服务等多种价值和功能,是粮食生产的根本保证,也是发展绿色农业、发挥土地生态景观功能和生态服务价值的基础。近年来,我国面临耕地质量下降、耕作层变浅、水土流失加剧等问题。推行耕地轮作休耕制度,能够"藏粮于地,藏粮于技",提升耕地质量,保障长久粮食安全。国外有关耕地轮作休耕的实践研究已有很多成功的案例,文章试图通过分析国内外轮作休耕制度和政策,期望为我国轮作休耕制度的建立和优化提供一定的借鉴。[方法]通过总结美国、德国、加拿大、日本耕地轮作休耕的实践经验,结合我国轮作休耕相关政策,对比我国轮作休耕与其他国家的不同点。[结果]我国耕地轮作休耕在政策目标、粮食安全压力、补贴机制、轮作休耕类型方面与国外不同,因此应该在符合我国国情和现实的前提下逐步推进,提出休耕轮作政策实施应注意的问题。[结论]在政策推进过程中应注意市场机制与政府决策的结合,第三方评估机构的作用和基层政策实施机构的建设,争取以轮作休耕为契机推进农业理念和技术模式创新。     

耕地休耕差别化动态补偿模式构建及其保障措施

耕地经营者的休耕补偿是耕地轮作休耕制度中须解决的重点、难点问题。在总结已有休耕补偿模式基础上,本文在系统分析现有休耕补偿模式存在补偿参与主体利益分配失衡、补偿对象缺乏差异化区分、农户利益被弱化、补偿效果评估空缺等四大突出问题的基础上,构建了耕地休耕差别化动态补偿新模式。同时,文章提出应制定基于治理、社会及生态成本的差别化补偿标准,由单一化补贴向多元化补贴转变,并按休耕所处的阶段、周期长短、休耕目标及范围等,适时动态调整补偿分配比例;鼓励参与休耕的农户成立土地休耕股份制专业合作社,直接参与休耕土地的培肥管护,提升农户在休耕补偿中的话语权,并以此来增强农户的自我补偿能力,调动土地经营者的养地积极性,保障休耕政策的可持续性。     

中国农地轮作休耕:制度与实践

轮作休耕既是一项经济制度,也是一项政治制度。从研究结果来看,由于土地所有制形式和农业生产目的不同,轮作休耕在不同历史时期略有差异;有组织、有计划的集体轮作休耕的效果好于自我管理轮作休耕方式;谷物-豆科作物轮作是轮作休耕的主要方式,复种轮作是主要形式;农作大户轮作休耕积极性高于散户或者少量耕地拥有者;轮作休耕对土地单位面积产量具有正向影响,对整个农业发展具有积极作用,对农民增产增收有促进意义,但对当年粮食(主粮)总产量有负面影响。     

关于土地休耕与生态补偿的文献综述

我国耕地数量不断减少、质量不断下降、人口数量不断增加,人地矛盾日益凸显。针对这一突出问题,国家提出了土地休耕计划以确保粮食安全。论文认为土地休耕不同于撂荒,其基本目的是生态环境保护。农户作为土地休耕的微观主体,其意愿直接影响土地休耕制度的实施,其影响因素有家庭基本特征、耕地资源禀赋、非农业收入、农户对生态效益及环境保护的认知分析以及生态补偿比较效益等,其中生态补偿比较效益是一个重要因素。应当建立包括生态补偿的主体、实施方式、补偿标准等在内的符合我国需求的动态生态补偿机制。     

Cropland expansion and grassland loss in the eastern Dakotas: New insights from a farm-level survey

The western Corn Belt region of the United States has become a hotspot for agricultural extensification and consequent land use and land cover changes. The goals of this research were to characterize geographic patterns of grassland loss resulting from cropland expansion in the eastern Dakotas, and to understand how these changes were associated with characteristics of individual farms and farm operators. We collected data on grassland conversion and other land use decisions through a mail survey of farm operators in North and South Dakota. Overall, 40% of respondents converted at least some grassland to cropland between 2004 and 2014, and the total acreage of converted grassland was equivalent to 5.1% of the surveyed farm acreage. Although most converted grassland acres (3.2% of farm acreage) were from land enrolled in the conservation reserve program (CRP), there were also substantial amounts of native grassland conversion (1.0%) and tame grassland conversion (0.9%). The total acreage of grassland conversion was more than four times larger than the acreage enrolled in CRP and other conservation programs. Different types of grassland conversion (e.g., native grassland versus CRP) were concentrated in different parts of the study region, and were spatially disjunct from the areas of highest conservation program enrollment. Larger farms were more likely than smaller farms to expand their cropland acreage and accounted for a disproportionate share of grassland conversion. Younger farm operators, higher levels of farm income, higher proportions of rented croplands, and marginal yields were also associated with cropland expansion and grassland conversion. Although CRP and other land retirement programs will remain important policy mechanisms for conservation in this region, they are not sufficient to maintain current levels of grassland cover and do not provide protection for native grasslands. Alternative conservation strategies and new agricultural policies are thus critically needed to maintain the ecosystem services provided by grasslands.     

Landowner valuation of a working wetlands program in the Prairie Pothole Region

Wetlands conservation within agricultural working lands is currently incentivized by land retirement programs and farm program eligibility criteria. Private ownership of the majority of agricultural lands within which these wetlands reside and growing opportunity costs facing landowners put wetlands at risk and motivate consideration of alternative policy options. A choice experiment was used to estimate likelihood of enrollment in a hypothetical working wetlands program. Landowners preferred shorter contract lengths, higher rental rates, midterm adjustment rather than a fixed‐rate contract, the right to conduct managed burning on their lands‐containing program wetlands, and no conservation practice requirement. Landowners with higher expressed valuation of conservation and who favor protecting wetlands, believe that small wetlands are important for their farms, who would not drain any of their wetlands, and raise ruminant animals are more inclined to participate in the program. Recommendations include consideration of program targeting during program design, practicing creative thought regarding program promotion, and exploration of no‐loss wetlands solutions, especially those market based.     

Factors associated with landowner involvement in forest conservation programs in the U.S.: Implications for policy design and outreach

One-third of the forestland in the U.S. is owned by 10.4 million family forest owners. Their collective decisions have a great impact on the sustainability of forest landscape across the country. Public policies and programs for encouraging landowners to properly manage their land include cost-share, forest certification, and conservation easements. However, to date, less than 6% of the family forest owners have participated in a cost-share program, less than 1% have certified their land, and less than 2% have an easement. By analyzing data from USDA Forest Service's National Woodland Owner Survey, we examined the characteristics of family forest owners who had participated in these programs and identified strategies to capitalize on these landowner characteristics to improve current programs and attract a wider range of participants. We found that family forest owners with larger land holdings were more likely to participate in all three types of programs. Obtaining forest management information or advice was important for program participation; however, the effects differed depending on the types of programs and the sources of information. Income was not significant in predicting participation in cost-share programs, implying family forest owners from lower-income strata were not more likely to use cost-share program. The results also suggest the importance of targeting the right audience when promoting forest certification programs, namely those who are participants of cost-share programs, own forestland for reasons other than farming or ranching, and plan to harvest sawlogs or pulpwood in the future. Age was not significant in any of the empirical models. This result is particularly intriguing in the context of conservation easement, considering recent discussions about the high cost of dying unprepared and the potential for promoting conservation easement as part of estate planning among older family forest owners. Finally, few variables were significant in the model predicting landowner decision about donating or selling an easement, suggesting the easement decision is very different from cost-share and forest certification decisions and further efforts are needed to understand the dynamics of this increasingly popular conservation policy tool. In summary, this study provides a better understanding of the relationship between program participation and the demographics, attitudes and behaviors of family forest owners. This understanding contributes to the development of outreach strategies for improving landowner interest in forest conservation programs.     

Cost-effective Targeting of Riparian Buffers

This paper develops an integrated economic, hydrologic and GIS modeling framework to examine the cost-effective targeting of land retirement for establishing riparian buffers in agricultural watersheds. Previous studies have examined the efficiency of targeting large land parcels for retirement or targeting management practices such as conservation tillage but have not considered narrow variable buffer strips. An empirical application of the framework in the Canagagigue Creek watershed in Ontario shows that average and marginal costs of sediment abatement increase at an increasing rate as the environmental goal becomes more stringent. The locations of the buffer strips vary across the watershed and are not necessarily located on those sites with greatest slope or those adjacent to visible streams. Cost effectiveness is further increased if the targeting is extended to allow for the width of the buffer strip to vary by location rather than assume a uniform width. The modeling results have important policy implications for the design of conservation stewardship programs such as setting appropriate environmental health goals based on marginal abatement costs relative to marginal benefits, and setting physical characteristics of the riparian buffers for selection along the drainage network in targeted sub-catchments.     

Forest conservation programs and the landowners who prefer them: Profiling family forest owners in the New York City watershed

Voluntary forest conservation programs offer family forest owners (FFO) financial incentives in exchange for legally-binding land use restrictions and/or management obligations. Protecting family forests in the Catskill Mountains region of New York is an important policy objective, as these watersheds provide clean drinking water to New York City. Multiple methods were used to elicit preferences for forest conservation program attributes and to identify potential barriers to participation. Respondents to a mailed survey were grouped according to the program attribute that most influenced their likely participation into forest conservation programs. Respondents were identified as time-sensitive, payment value-sensitive, rights-sensitive, payment mode-sensitive, or harvest-sensitive. Comparing groups revealed significant differences in age, attitudes towards harvesting trees, income, and importance of timber production. Supplemental qualitative data was collected during three focus groups of survey respondents and analyzed for general themes. Focus group discussions revealed a lack of knowledge about conservation easement programs, reluctance to burden landowners’ children with encumbered land inheritances, concerns for resale values and tax assessment, and a simmering animosity towards New York City’s watershed management efforts. We offer strategies to address these concerns and to design programs that will foster greater participation among FFOs in the region.     

Policy lessons from spatiotemporal enrollment patterns of payment for ecosystem service programs in Argentina

Payment for ecosystem services schemes (PES) are lauded as a market-based solution to curtail deforestation and restore degraded ecosystems. However, PES programs often fail to conserve sites under strong long-term deforestation pressures. Underperformance, in part, is likely due to adverse selection. Spatial adverse selection occurs when landowners are more likely to enroll parcels with low deforestation pressure than parcels with high deforestation pressure. Temporal adverse selection arises when parcels are enrolled for short time periods. In both cases, financial resources are allocated without having a sizeable impact on long-term land use change. Improving program performance to overcome these shortcomings requires understanding attributes of landowners and their parcels across large scales to identify spatial and temporal enrollment patterns that drive adverse selection. In this paper, we examine these patterns in Argentina’s PES program in Chaco forest, a global deforestation hotspot. Our study area covers 252,319 km². Results from multinomial logistic regression models showed that large parcels of enrolled land and parcels owned by absentee landowners exhibit greater evidence of spatiotemporal adverse selection than smaller parcels or parcels owned by local landowners. Furthermore, parcels managed under land use plans for conservation and restoration are more likely to be associated with adverse selection than parcels managed for financial returns such as harvest of non-timber forest products, silviculture, and silvopasture. However, prior to recommending that PES programs focus on land uses with higher potential earnings, a greater understanding is needed of the degree to which these land uses meet ecological and biodiversity goals of PES programs. We suggest that increased spatial targeting of enrollment, along with enrollment of local landowners and further incentives for land uses that support conservation and restoration, could promote long-term conservation of forest lands.     

The effectiveness of state preferential property tax programs in conserving forests: Comparisons,measurements, and challenges

Forest property taxes have been identified as one of the major driving forces behind forest loss and parcelization. Among various policy alternatives for reducing the burden of forest property taxes on landowners, preferential property tax programs have been widely used across states. Existing research has mostly focused on individual property tax programs, particularly those based on current use valuation, while little has been done to document, analyze and compare programs across states. By examining survey data from state preferential property tax program administrators across the United States, this paper describes the commonalities and differences among states regarding their preferential property tax programs, provides a preliminary understanding of the relationship between state preferential property tax policy and trends in private forest conditions, and identifies issues related to the effectiveness of state preferential property tax programs and private forest land management and conservation. Our analysis revealed three fundamental disconnects: (1) Program attributes that were previously considered to be important for preferential property tax programs to be effective in retaining forest land and fostering management did not consistently correlate with program effectiveness as viewed by the administrators of these programs; (2) These program attributes did not consistently correlate with actual program effectiveness as measured at the state level by forest trend indicators used in this study (i.e., change in private forest land cover, change in average size of private forest holdings, extent to which private forest land is being actively managed); and (3) The self-assessed program effectiveness did not consistently correlate with actual program effectiveness, either. The various ways in which the effectiveness of preferential property tax programs is defined and measured contribute to explaining these disconnects. It is particularly important for researchers and policy makers to be explicit about how they define and measure effectiveness and the scale on which they conduct their analysis before assessing and comparing programs or suggesting improvement strategies.     

Spatial Targeting of Conservation Tillage to Improve Water Quality and Carbon Retention Benefits

This paper develops a GIS-based modeling framework that integrates a farm model, a hydrologic model, and a soil organic matter model to examine spatial targeting of conservation tillage to jointly improve water quality and carbon retention benefits in agricultural watersheds. Previous studies have examined the targeting of conservation tillage, land retirement, and riparian buffers at watershed scale to achieve water quality benefits but not considered carbon retention benefits. An empirical application of the framework in the Fairchild Creek watershed in Ontario shows that targeting conservation tillage based on sediment abatement goal can also achieve comparable carbon retention benefits in terms of percentage reduction of its base carbon losses. The targeted subcatchments for conservation tillage vary across the watershed based on benefit to cost ratios. The pattern of conservation tillage targeted based on carbon retention goal is similar to that with a sediment abatement goal but slight differences are found because of different carbon content in the soils. The modeling results have important policy implications for the design of conservation stewardship programs such as setting sediment abatement goal as an indicator to achieve joint environmental benefits and direct public fund to locations that can achieve environmental goals at least costs.     

Development stressors are stronger than protected area management: A case of the Pantanos de Centla Biosphere Reserve,Mexico

Evaluation of the management effectiveness of protected areas has become a global priority, especially in coastal zones, where essential services are threatened by land use pressures. To assess the effectiveness of a coastal protected area, we estimated the land-use change (LUC) within and outside of the Pantanos de Centla Biosphere Reserve (PCBR) and interviewed key stakeholders to identify the main stressors causing LUC. The native vegetation cover under the PCBR protection decreased by 65% over 24 years; whereas agriculture and livestock lands doubled, even within the core conservation areas of the PCBR. The greatest loss was in the flooded forest (48%), where the reduction was similar in and around the reserve. The effectiveness of reserve management was affected by drivers of land use change, which include agricultural and livestock enterprises that are run by government programs. Effective management of the PCBR has been undermined by poor management practices, limited capacity and resources, and inadequate zoning design. Protected areas and its surrounding landscapes could be considered to be natural experiments for future research, where high value land uses and conservation objectives coincide within coastal areas that will face a predicted sea level rise, more intense floods and higher temperatures.     

Characterizing land disturbance in Atewa Range Forest Reserve and Buffer Zone

Changes in land cover of protected areas and their buffers have serious implications on the conservation of biodiversity within such biomes because land use has been recognized as one of the major drivers of biodiversity change. Atewa Range Forest Reserve is one of Ghana's Upper Guinea Forests declared as a Globally Significant Biodiversity Area (GSBA). But the reserve is under threat from several human disturbances which could impact on the land cover of the reserve.This study examined the spatial and temporal changes in land cover of Atewa Range Forest Reserve and it's buffer between 1986 and 2013 using remote sensing. Land use and land cover (LULC) classification and change detections were undertaken using one Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) image of 1986 and Landsat ETM+ images of 2003 and 2013.The study also investigated the driving forces of LULC and the effectiveness of the Forest and Wildlife Policy of 1994 in the management of the reserve.Results of image classification showed that much of the peripheral closed and open vegetative covers have been converted to farms and bushes with little disturbance within the interior of the reserve. The study revealed that, the conservation management policies were yielding very little results due to a number of policy deficiencies including low staff strength, lack of logistics and low remuneration. Enforcement of legal instruments against illegal logging, small scale mining and farming activities within the reserve, improvement in the staff strength and their condition of service, intensification of public education on the value of forest and the need to protect it are some of the major recommendations that could curb encroachment on the reserve.