Attitudes of farmers in China's northern Shaanxi Province towards the land-use changes required under the Grain for Green Project, and implications for the project's success

To restore China's degraded environment, the government launched an environmental restoration project named the “Grain for Green” Project (GGP) in 1999. From 1999 to 2010, the government will spend US$ 40 billion to convert 147 million ha of farmland into forest and grassland and 173 million ha of wasteland (including abandoned farmland) into forest in 25 provinces. A primary focus is to replace farming and livestock grazing in fragile areas with reforestation and planting of forage crops. Given the project's tremendous size and number of participants, the attitudes of the affected farmers will strongly influence the GGP's success. To learn their attitudes, we surveyed 2000 farmers in 2005 to quantify their opinions of the GGP and how it has affected their livelihoods, and we discuss the concerns raised by these attitudes. Farmers appreciated the grain and financial compensation offered by the GGP, but few considered planting of trees (8.9%) or forage species (2.2%) to be a priority. Although only 19.1% felt that their livelihoods had been adversely affected by the GGP and 63.8% supported the project, a large proportion (37.2%) planned to return to cultivating forested areas and grassland once the project's subsidies end in 2018. Therefore, much of the restored vegetation risks being converted into farmland and rangeland again, compromising the sustainability of the environmental achievements. To succeed, strategies such as the GGP must compensate farmers fairly for their costs, create new agricultural products and techniques for use on more suitable land, and create job and training programs that account for the needs and desires of farmers and give them alternatives to returning to old land-use practices.     

“双碳”目标下农地细碎化对植被碳汇的影响研究

目的 提升植被碳汇被视为应对气候变化、如期实现“双碳”目标的重要抓手。尽可能全面地识别农地细碎化对植被碳汇的影响，能够从侧面展示农地细碎化治理蕴藏的生态价值。方法 文章基于卫星遥感数据，测算2001—2019年中国省级农地细碎化和植被碳汇水平，采用双向固定效应模型和空间计量模型实证考察农地细碎化对植被碳汇的影响。结果 （1）农地细碎化会显著降低植被碳汇，农地细碎化指数每增加1%，植被碳汇降低0.127 4%。（2）从农地细碎化维度来看，面积和分布细碎化均会显著降低植被碳汇。（3）从土地覆被类型来看，农地细碎化的影响并非局限于农地，同样会降低林地和草地碳汇，农地细碎化指数每增加1%，林草碳汇降低0.138 5%。（4）从空间关联来看，农地细碎化的影响并非局限于当地，同样会降低周边地区植被碳汇，存在空间溢出效应。（5）农业综合开发的土地治理项目能够降低农地细碎化对植被碳汇的负面影响，且相较于自筹资金，财政资金的治理效应更优，相较于农地治理，生态综合治理的治理效应更优。结论 应加强“生命共同体”系统思维，全面认知农地细碎化影响植被碳汇的广度和深度，重视农地细碎化治理的生态价值。在农地细碎化治理中充分发挥政府的主导作用，将生态保护和修复列为农地细碎化治理的前提。     

基于宏观经济数据的农村劳动力转移对陕西省经济贡献研究

文章采用定性分析与实证分析相结合的方法,通过对农村劳动力转移概念的界定,并构造出农村劳动力转移对经济贡献的计算办法,分析过程结合了34年间陕西省相关经济数据,同时,结合该项目调研进展,得出结论如下:(1)2003~2007年由于劳动力转移贡献的全社会劳动生产率上升占到的比率为14.4%,而2008~2012年这一指标上升到44.9%。由于2007~2008年受到金融危机的影响,加之陕西省颁布的一系列惠农政策,导致外出的农村劳动力向陕西省内流动速度加快,劳动力在产业间的移动加剧,进而导致其贡献大幅上升;(2)2008~2012年劳动力转移对GDP增长贡献百分比最高为42.2%,增长幅度也最大,其中农村劳动力转移起到了关键性作用;(3)结合问卷调查结论,待机而出的比例最高约为52.25%,说明陕西省长期对农村劳动力吸引力不足。鉴于此,从合理引导农村劳动力再就业、发挥政府力量、改变企业观念等方面提出具体对策。     

陕西省耕地利用转型与粮食产量耦合关系研究

[目的]研究陕西省耕地利用隐形变化与产量的耦合关系,以此优化粮食生产系统的指导方式,提高陕西省粮食产量,协调陕西省耕地利用转型与粮食产量的耦合关系。[方法]文章运用变异系数法,以粮食生产的"投入指标"为评价依据,耕地利用强度由地均化肥施用量、有效灌溉比、复种指数及地均农业机械动力表征等4个指标构成,以及利用2005~2015年陕西省粮食产量,分析其耕地利用转型和粮食产量耦合关系时空演变。[结果]2005~2015年间陕西省各地市耕地利用强度数值上逐年增大,但空间布局变化较分散;从粮食产量方面来看,陕西省各地市粮食产量整体有所增长,空间分异特征较为明显;耕地利用转型与粮食产量高耦合值区增加,低耦合区值逐渐减少;从空间上看,陕西省中部地区耕地利用转型与粮食产量耦合度越来越高。[结论]陕西省耕地利用转型与粮食产量耦合度在2005~2015年间呈现耦合度逐渐增加的态势,耕地利用转型对粮食安全具有有利影响。     

Land administration “best practice” providing the infrastructure for land policy implementation

Land administration systems, and particularly their core cadastral components, are an important infrastructure which facilitates the implementation of land use policies. While most land administration systems traditionally have a primary objective of supporting the operation of land markets, they are increasingly evolving into a broader land information infrastructure which supports economic development, environmental management and social stability in both developed and developing countries. While a great deal of attention is given to land use policies worldwide concerned with such areas as forest management, coastal zone management, environmental sustainability and managing the urban environment, less attention is given to the infrastructures which facilitate the implementation of the associated policies and programmes. Importantly, all these activities rely on some form of land administration infrastructure which permits the complex range of rights, restrictions and responsibilities in land to be identified, mapped and managed as a basis for policy formulation and implementation. As a result, there is an increasing interest in the concept of land administration infrastructures and their core cadastres, in the principles and policies concerned with establishing such infrastructures and in “best practices”. In addressing this need, this paper attempts to explain the evolving concept of land administration infrastructures, the concept of “best practice” and the concept of a land administration “tool box” of principles, policies, laws and technologies which are useful in reforming or re-engineering land administration systems in support of a broader land policy agenda.     

基于竞租理论的退耕还林工程最优补助标准研究

从农户视角出发,基于竞租理论,对退耕还林工程决策集进行分析比较,确定了农户收益最大化决策,进而根据政府财政支出最少的政策目标,确定最优补助标准。通过对陕西省退耕还林工程的典型代表——延安市的4种经营类型的主要作物品种进行实证分析发现:退耕还林工程政策将会激励农户参与经济林建设。政府若要调整农户的决策类型,则需进一步提高相应类型的补助标准。     

Credibility of institutions: Forestry, social conflict and titling in China

In the reform of a forestry sector governed by centralist, socialist principles towards a sector suited to the challenges of the market economy, the Chinese government needs to establish institutions that can be perceived as credible by social actors. In other words, the creation of institutions that rally sufficient social and political support in order to be effective. Against this backdrop, this article consciously opts to refer to institutional “credibility” instead of the more fashionable concept of institutional “trust”. Whereas scholarly discussions about trust focus more on the relation of trust between social actors, credibility puts more emphasis on the institution itself, and the role of government in its successful creation or failure. Failure to effectively undertake institutional reform might put the social acceptability or credibility of institutions at risk, and can lead to the emergence of “empty institutions” with little, or even, a negative effect on social and political actors. Applying this concept to China's forestry sector, this article identifies three critical areas that call for careful rethinking how to “get institutions right”: the titling of forest holdings; the restructuring of the forest administration; and the design of forest laws and policies with particular reference to lease and ownership.     

农地流转风险形成机制及评价——以广东省为例

[目的]厘清农地流转风险形成机制,构建农地流转风险评估体系,量化评价农地流转风险,以便为农地流转风险防范和治理提供依据。[方法]文章采用熵权法和莫兰指数对广东省21个地市的农地流转风险及其空间特征进行了定量评价和分析。[结果]（1）信息不对称、道德风险及村集体强制介入是农地流转过程中农民权益受损的关键;（2）社会保障风险、自然灾害风险及社会稳定风险是当前广东省农地流转面临的主要风险;（3）广东省农地流转风险区域差异显著,全局莫兰指数为-0.03,空间上未呈明显集聚特征;（4）广东省各地市农地流转非粮化倾向高度趋同,值得警惕。[结论]在当前中国农村社会保障制度仍不健全背景下,尊重农民意愿,审慎推进农地流转才是明智之举;法律和制度的完善、农业基础设施的加强、流转服务水平的提高,农业金融的支持以及粮食补贴政策的正向激励应是当前广东省实施差异化农地流转风险治理的政策支点。     

Forest transitions in Chinese villages: Explaining community-level variation under the returning forest to farmland program

China’s Returning Farmland to Forest Program (RFFP) aimed to transform rural landscapes and livelihoods by compensating households for planting trees on retired farmland. The program has been attributed a key role in an apparent forest transition. Studies uncover great local variation in its impacts, but the mechanisms behind them have received little attention. We examine such heterogeneity in 12 communities in northwest Yunnan, assessing the hypothesis that the RFFP catalyzed a state-led forest transition by evaluating the contributions of RFFP implementation and other processes to land cover change. Our dataset combines socioeconomic data from household surveys, focus groups, and intensive interviews with remote sensing data for a linked, cross-scale analysis. Results show no significant relationship between RFFP implementation and community-level vegetation cover change. Between 2000 and 2010, high-elevation communities had larger vegetation gains, while from 2010 to 2014, low-elevation communities had larger gains. Regression analyses and interview data show off-farm labor, tree crop planting, and changing energy sources influenced the rate of community-level vegetation change. This pattern, combining tree crop cultivation with labor outflows, may represent a distinct “policy plantation” pathway of forest gain. Meanwhile, new, high-elevation cash crops may be constraining forest expansion. This analysis suggests limited additionality for the RFFP in this region and highlights how heterogeneous, intersecting land use processes bring uneven forest transitions.     

劳动力转移对区域农地利用效率的影响——基于省级面板数据的计量分析

研究目的：探讨农村劳动力转移影响区域农地利用效率的途径,并对二者的关系进行实证检验。研究方法：采用数据包络分析（DEA）测算全国各省1990、1995、2000和2005年的农地利用效率,在此基础上,结合人口普查数据和各省经济发展数据,形成一套省级层面的面板数据,通过构建计量模型估计、检验劳动力省内和省际转移对农地利用效率的影响。研究结果：（1）各省农地利用效率存在显著的时空差异;（2）劳动力省内转移促进了农地利用效率的提高;（3）劳动力省际转移对劳动力输入地区的农地利用效率存在一定程度的负面影响。研究结论：从提高农地利用效率出发,未来的政策应该鼓励农村劳动力转移,特别是本省内流动;同时在理论和政策层面关注劳动力转移过程中的负面影响。     

Agricultural economic zones in Thailand

The Thai government introduced agricultural economic zones (AEZs) to mitigate risks for farmers from variations in crop price stability and increase production productivity, but the zone policy contradicts other policies, resulting in its limited success. This paper identifies the factors affecting farmland owners’ decisions to allocate farmland to different crops in order to analyse the root cause of the failure of the AEZs programme in Thailand. The study area was Khon Kaen province, where a total of 745 farmland parcels were selected as samples for the research. The optimisation method based on duality production theory and simultaneous Tobit estimation was used for this study. The study identified the factors not covered by the government when AEZs were established, including crop prices, input prices and property right. The findings indicate that farmers do not consider physical and environmental characteristics of their parcel as a top priority when making a decision to allocate their farmland use. Instead, their top priorities are economic factors. Therefore, the government should reconsider the AEZs programme in order to prevent further loss of government budget spending on the programme. By recognising the root cause of the failure of the AEZs, the government should be able to better manage their agricultural policies more appropriately.     

抗战前陕西棉花产销合作

在二十世纪三十年代前期实行统制经济和救济农村金融的背景下，国民政府和各省政府、社会团体、银行机构以及一些大学广泛开展了棉花产销合作运动，陕西棉花产销合作是其中办理较早、规模最大、成绩较好的地区。由于各方的努力，陕西棉花产销合作取得了一定的成绩，棉花品种得到改良，棉田面积扩大，棉农因此获得了一定的利益，但棉花产销合作也存在诸多缺陷，面临许多困境，前景仍然十分艰难。     

Anthropogenic and topographic correlates of natural vegetation cover within agricultural landscape mosaics in Turkey

Natural vegetation enhances the value of agricultural landscapes for people and wildlife. However, the role of anthropogenic versus topographic factors in driving the extent of natural vegetation cover within agricultural lands at large spatial scales remains unexplored. I assessed the influence of anthropogenic and topographic variables on the extent of agricultural mosaics with high natural vegetation cover in the country of Turkey where a large extent of natural and semi-natural vegetation is maintained by traditional agriculture. GIS layers depicting human land use, elevation, slope, roads and population data were obtained and summarized at two spatial scales, within provinces and for 100 km² grid cells covering the country’s entire agricultural land area. Average farm size was also obtained at province level. Hierarchical Partitioning was conducted to determine the independent effect of anthropogenic and topographic variables on the variation in agriculture with high natural vegetation. Slope had the largest independent effect on the variation in the proportion of agricultural mosaic with high natural vegetation cover. The extent of agricultural and settlement area also explained much of the variation in natural vegetation across both grid cells and provinces. The proportion of natural vegetation increased as human population and road density decreased across grid cells and as average farm size decreased across provinces. These results suggest that while topography is the primary driver of natural vegetation cover within agricultural mosaics in Turkey, the pressures associated with urban development and agricultural industrialization may also influence the cultural and wildlife value of agricultural landscapes.     

基本农田保护研究综述

通过综述前人在基本农田的概念内涵、基本农田的保护政策、基本农田的划定方法与技术研究等方面的现状,得出:我国基本农田的保护任务艰巨而道路漫长,应该将理论研究与技术运用相结合.在研究理论问题的同时,更应注重技术上的创新,在具体的保护工作中,结合运用计算机技术,最为普遍的是"3S"技术,将此技术运用到实际中,建立一套具有中国特色的基本农田保护体系.     

基于光能利用率模型的河南省冬小麦单产估算研究

[目的]快速、准确估算空间尺度上作物产量,对于评价农田生态系统对气候变化的响应、制定科学合理的粮食政策、对外粮食贸易等具有重要意义。河南省冬小麦产量占全国1/4,准确估算河南省冬小麦产量对维护国家粮食安全具有重要作用。单产估算作为农作物估产中的关键技术,也是作物估产的难点之一。[方法]文章首先利用VPM(Vegetation Photosynthesis Model)估算冬小麦NPP(Net Primary Product),结合收获指数、冬小麦收获部分的含水量、含碳量、NPP分配到地上或地下部分比例等一系列符合该研究区的经验指数,进行河南省冬小麦单产估算研究,并分析了引起模拟误差的原因。[结果]模拟单产较实测单产低估4.4%(实测单产为6 810kg/hm~2,模拟单产为6 519kg/hm~2),但两者之间存在显著相关关系,两者相关系数的平方R2=0.70(n=50,p0.01)。通过与MODIS-GPP产品获得的冬小麦单产数据比较,基于VPM模型的模拟结果优于MODIS-GPP产品。[结论]基于VPM可快速、准确估算河南省空间尺度冬小麦单产,该方法具有较好的适用性。     

Is there a forest transition outside forests? Trajectories of farm trees and effects on ecosystem services in an agricultural landscape in Eastern Germany

Most industrial countries have experienced a transformation of land use: from decreasing to expanding forest areas, the so-called forest transition. Outside closed forests, European rural landscapes exhibit a diversity of tree-based agricultural systems, but the question of whether this forest transition has also affected ‘trees outside forests’ has rarely been studied. The aim of this study is to analyze the spatial-temporal dynamics of farm trees and woodlands in an agricultural landscape in Eastern Germany from 1964 to 2008, based on aerial photographs and digital orthophotos. Taking a landscape ecological perspective, we quantify farm tree dynamics, disentangle processes of gain and loss in the socialist and post-socialist periods of Eastern Germany, and assess differences in ecosystem services provided by farm trees. A substantial increase of overall tree cover by 24.8% was observed for the selected time period, but trajectories have been disparate across different farm tree classes. The increase in tree cover was stronger in steep valleys than on hills and plateaus, indicating a significant interdependence between topography and trajectories of change. Patch numbers of farm trees did not increase, which suggests that the expansion of tree cover is mostly due to a spatial expansion of previously existing tree patches. Overall net gains in tree cover were rather similar during the socialist and post-socialist eras. The general increase in tree cover was accompanied by increase in agriculture-related ecosystem service provision, but the increase in pollination and pest control services was much lower than that in water purification services. These findings present the first empirical evidence from an industrialized country that there is also an ongoing ‘forest transition’ outside closed forests. Potential, partially counteracting drivers of change during the socialist and post-socialist periods have mainly been related to farm policies and the environmental consciousness of land users and society as a whole.     

Mapping changes in land use/land cover and prediction of future extension of bowé in Benin,West Africa

Desertification and land degradation are worldwide problems affecting soil, vegetation and the livelihoods of rural populations. Bowal (plural bowé) is a particular form of degraded land that occurs in tropical regions and leads to the exposure of ferricretes, which are unsuitable for farming. Bowé are more common on farmland and degraded savanna. Changes in land use/land cover were used to map a region of 6.7 million ha in northern Benin, West Africa in 1975, 1990 and 2010. The changes observed during these periods (1975–1990, 1990–2010 and 1975–2010) were used to predict the occurrence of bowé in the period up to 2050 using Markovian chain analysis. The results showed a considerable change in land use/land cover during the three periods. The types of land on which bowé occur (farmland and degraded savanna) increased in northern Benin by 5.4% per year during the period 1975–1990 and 9.5% per year during the periods 1990–2010, while the natural vegetation (forest, woodland and tree savanna) decreased by the same amount. The future scenarios also predicted the same trend. In the period 1975–1990, 1.28 million ha (26%) of natural vegetation was converted to degraded savanna and farmland while 2.23 million ha (53%) of natural vegetation was converted to degraded savanna and farmland in the period 1990–2010. Based on the dynamics recorded during the period 1975–1990 and 1990–2010 respectively, a total of 1.28 million ha (26% of the natural vegetation that was present in 1975) and 1.29 million ha (31% of the natural vegetation that was present in 1990) will be converted to farmland and degraded savanna in the study area by 2050.Thus bowalization will persist and increase in the period up to 2050. The natural vegetation could disappear if protection and restoration measures are not taken. It is thus important to take measures to stop the degradation and to implement programs to restore soils on bowé based on the soil and water conservation techniques used on highly degraded West African soils, such as zaï pit and stone rows with grass strips. Some native plants species adapted to bowalization and resistant to climate change in northern Benin (e.g. Asparagus africanus, Andropogon pseudapricus and Combretum nigricans) should be used in association with soil and water conservation techniques on bowé.     

农地征收、农地流转与农民人均收入——基于空间滞后模型估计

通过考虑空间溢出性,构建固定效应空间滞后模型,并利用2009—2014年省级面板数据研究农地征收、农地流转对农民人均收入的影响。研究发现:农地征收面积每提高1%,农民人均收入将会降低0.039%,表明农地征收会降低农民人均收入;农地流转面积每提高1%,农民人均收入将会提高0.011%,表明农地流转有利于农民收入的提高。因此农地在征收过程中,应提高土地补偿费及农民就业能力,保障农民利益不受损,同时积极稳妥推进农地有序流转,形成规模经营。     

中国地方政府耕地保护事业的绩效审计探讨

研究目的：探究审计在地方政府耕地保护绩效中的运用,为丰富和完善耕地保护制度提供新的视角。研究方法：公共受托理论与审计学相关理论。研究结果：（1） 地方政府耕地保护的绩效不只体现在数量规模的能控性方面,还体现在耕地保护资金的使用情况、耕地保护中的区域公平情况、耕地保护行为的守法情况等方面;（2）地方政府保护耕地实质上是履行其受托责任,地方政府耕地保护事业的绩效审计就是对其履行受托耕地保护责任绩效的一种审计;（3）基于公共受托责任构建了地方政府耕地保护事业绩效审计的评价指标体系。研究结论：地方政府耕地保护事业的绩效审计制度安排可以最大程度地显化委托人的监督权力,从而降低代理成本,增加代理人违约风险。     

Editorial - Decision rules, government rules, and the costs of vegetation protection in New South Wales

Governments regularly spend public funds to purchase environmental amenities. They might purchase land to add to the public estate, pay to fence stock out of endangered native forest, or offer stewardship payments as incentives to conservation. Governments also regularly introduce policies to achieve environmental goals, even though these policies impose costs on firms, households or farms. The basic decision rule, to maximise environmental benefits from a given budget, in all these cases is received wisdom within the economics profession. In the case of purchase of land to add to the public estate:Maximise environmental benefits by purchasing land in descending order of the ratio of benefit to cost until the budget is exhausted.More generally, funds should be allocated to individual activities within a programme in order of the decreasing ratio of benefits to costs until the budget is exhausted. This rule can be applied when benefits can be measured in any monetary or non-monetary quantitative index. In the case of conservation of vegetation, it can be applied relatively simply in the field when vegetation types and land values can be mapped jointly through GIS techniques.This simple decision rule is not always followed by government agencies that manage environmental programmes. Consider the protection of native vegetation, which is defined to include native forest, native woodland and native grassland. To meet international obligations to protect this kind of environment, most countries must involve private landholders in conservation because there are insufficient government reserves to meet the international commitments. Indeed, most countries have already introduced many policies to encourage private landholders to protect native vegetation on their forests and farms.The New South Wales state government, in Australia, has introduced the Native Vegetation Conservation Act (1998) to ensure that private landholders protect vegetation. The Act constrains farmers to retain all the native forest, native woodland, and native grassland, on their land irrespective of the costs to them. Farmers can then apply for consent to clear and crop this land, but consent is rarely granted in full and often not at all. The Act is consistent with a decision rule of “maximise-benefits-only” - protect all vegetation irrespective of the costs to those who have to conserve it.Constraints of this kind will inevitably lead to a loss of income and land value when they restrict the farm enterprises, and so will impose opportunity costs on the farmer. There is already ample published evidence on the sizes of these costs - from publications of the relevant state agency itself, consultants' reports, farmer submissions and independent research. For example, in a large region in the northwest of New South Wales, where land could be cropped very productively:- some farmers bear only small losses (a quarter lose less than five per cent of their potential income),- some farmers bear very large losses (another quarter lose more than half of their potential income),- the overall losses of income per farm are high (an average loss of almost 30 per cent of potential income across the region), and- the losses are highest for those who have already conserved most woodland.Consider now the problem of reducing these costs by applying the benefit-cost rule as opposed to the maximise-benefits-only rule that has led to this position. There are three economic decision rules that might be used to rank projects or activities.The benefit-cost rule: Impose the constraint on the farm with the highest ratio of environmental benefit per dollar of opportunity cost first, then on the farm with the next highest ratio, etc., until the environmental goal is met. And so maximise the ratio of benefits to opportunity costs.The benefit-only rule: Impose the constraint on the farm with the highest environmental benefits first, then on the farm with the next highest benefits, etc., until the environmental goal is met. And so maximise benefits.The cost-only rule: Impose the constraint on the farm with the lowest opportunity costs first, then the next lowest cost, etc, until the environmental goal is met. And so minimise opportunity costs.But do these rules normally lead to different outcomes? If the “budget” or willingness to impose opportunity costs were large enough, all three would lead to the same outcome because constraints would be imposed on all suitable land. Otherwise the outcomes differ - that is the different rules lead to different levels of environmental benefit from the imposition of a given level of opportunity cost (or from the expenditure of a given budget).Both the benefit-only and cost-only rules lead to inefficiencies (see Babcock et al (1997) and Wu et al (2000) for a discussion of the associated statistical issues). Benefit-only targeting leads to the retirement of highly-productive land from agricultural uses - which is a major reason why opportunity costs are often high when native vegetation is conserved under the Act in New South Wales. The cost-only rule can lead to the reservation or purchase of land with few environmental benefits, even though expenditure or opportunity cost is minimised.A comparison of the benefit-cost rule and the benefit-only rule in the northwest of New South Wales illustrates the problem. The region is potentially highly-productive crop land but large areas of it are presently covered by native forest and woodland which cannot now be cleared. Much of this vegetation is under various degrees of threat even though it is not rare or endangered. The farm is the unit of assessment under the Act, so is used in the example. Benefits are measured as the percentages of species that are saved on each farm when its vegetation is protected rather than cleared to crops. The total benefit is the aggregate of percentage species saved across the farms - again following the present administration of the Act. The opportunity costs are measured as the losses in land value because land cannot now be cleared due to the Act.The comparison of the two rules indicates substantial savings with the benefit-cost rule. For example, 90 per cent of the total benefits can be obtained by imposing 93 per cent of the total opportunity costs with the benefit-only rule, and by imposing only 54 per cent of the total opportunity costs with the benefit-cost rule. The benefit-cost rule saves 39 per cent of the total costs at this level of benefits. Again, 80 cent of the total benefits can be obtained by imposing 86 per cent of the total opportunity costs with the benefit-only rule, but by imposing only 46 per cent of the total opportunity costs with the benefit-cost rule. The benefit-cost rule saves 40 per cent of costs at this level of benefits.While such results can only be indicative of the magnitudes, they do serve to highlight the inefficiencies of decision rules used by government agencies. In New South Wales, the Native Vegetation Conservation Act imposes high opportunity costs on farmers, partly because it is implemented through a high-cost decision rule. Now that suitable GIS technology, vegetation maps, and spatial land value data, are becoming available, these costs can be lowered with a more rational decision rule to guide choices in the field.The environmental goal is not at issue, but the cost of achieving it is. We can identify who bears the opportunity costs of environmental conservation, and often value the magnitude of these costs. Now we can also reduce the levels of these costs with the use of the benefit-cost decision rule.Jack SindenAgricultural and Resource EconomicsUniversity of New EnglandArmidale, New South WalesReferencesBabcock Bruce A, Lackshminarayan PG, Wu JunJie and Silberman D (1997) “Targeting Tools for the Purchase of Environmental Amenities”, Land Economics, 73, 325-339.Wu JunJie, Adams Richard M., Zilberman David, and Bruce Babcock (2000) “Targeting Resource Conservation Expenditures”, Choices, Second Quarter, 2000, 3-8.