The Formation of GM‐free and GM Coasean Clubs: Will They Form and If So How Much Can They Achieve?

The unintended presence of traces of genetically modified (GM) crops in the harvests of non‐GM crops plays a prominent role in the debate over the coexistence of GM and non‐GM crops. One way to address the issue is the formation of GM‐free or GM‐only clubs. We model the decisions of individual farmers to cultivate either GM or non‐GM crops and combine this with a game theoretic model of club formation to investigate the feasibility of such clubs. We consider two liability regimes: GM farmers are liable or they are not. We consider two benchmarks: Nash equilibrium without negotiations and the efficient allocation and compare those with partial co‐operation through a Coasean club. We find that in both regimes a relatively large club can form but they are not always necessary to reach the efficient allocation. In fact, if farmers can freely decide under profit maximisation what to cultivate, they reach 95% of an efficient allocation. This holds independent of the property rights system and provides strong support for coexistence policies based on ex‐post liability such as in the US and Spain.     

中国农业现代化水平的测算与俱乐部收敛分析

目的 农业现代化建设是动态的过程,衡量不同时期各地区农业现代化的表现,及其收敛特征对实现乡村振兴和区域均衡发展有重要意义。方法 文章首先基于熵权法,借助2003—2020年中国30个省（市、自治区,不含港澳台和西藏）的面板数据,构建包含农业面源污染数据在内的8项大指标体系,测算中国各地区的农业现代化水平;其次,借助非线性时变因子俱乐部检验法,识别农业现代化水平的收敛组;最后,应用Ordered Logit和Ordered Probit模型检验俱乐部的成因。结果 研究发现,中国农业现代化总体水平不高,地区差距明显;30个省（市、自治区,不含港澳台和西藏）收敛于4个俱乐部,其中北京、上海、黑龙江3个地区收敛于高水平俱乐部、21个地区收敛于中高水平俱乐部、云南和重庆收敛于中等水平俱乐部、山西、甘肃、贵州和青海收敛于低水平俱乐部;进一步研究发现,技术创新、人力资本水平和农业保险对俱乐部融合具有促进作用。结论 因此,低水平俱乐部可以通过提升人力资本、加大科技投入、发展农业保险等路径实现向高水平俱乐部的趋同。     

Duck Hunting and Wetland Conservation: Compromise or Synergy?

Duck hunting is an issue — often controversial — that generates both benefits and costs to society. Hunters enjoy benefits from engaging in their sport, while those who have ethical concerns regarding the shooting of ducks endure costs. Some in the community fear that duck hunting puts pressure on the continued ecological viability of the hunted species, while others argue that the demand for hunting provides sufficient economic incentive for wetland conservation. Whether society as a whole should permit or restrict duck hunting is to some extent an empirical question: Are the costs to society of allowing duck hunting greater or less than the benefits it generates? Evidence presented in this paper addresses this question. The benefits enjoyed by people who hunt ducks in the upper south east of South Australia are estimated using the travel cost method. The ethical costs borne by the general community because of duck hunting are estimated using the choice modeling technique. Finally a threshold value analysis is used to assess the activities of Wetlands and Wildlife, a not‐for‐profit organization that manages wetlands in part for hunting.     

The role of wildlife-associated recreation in private land use and conservation: Providing the missing baseline

Successfully integrating human activities with ecosystem conservation forms the foundation of sustainability and is key to maintaining biological diversity. This is especially important in privately-owned lands in the U.S., which harbor high levels of biodiversity yet are often vulnerable to habitat degradation and loss. This study analyzes recreation as a sustainable use on private property, focusing on wildlife-associated recreation, defined here as fishing, hunting and wildlife watching. Eighteen national surveys implemented by three U.S. government agencies spanning 1999–2013 were analyzed to provide baseline information and an assessment of the conservation impact of recreation. Results show that approximately 440.1 million acres of private land, ∼22% of the contiguous land area of the U.S., are either leased or owned for wildlife-associated recreation. Land utilized for hunting accounts for 81% of that total. Approximately 33% of private forestland, 18% of private grazing land and 4% of private cropland is used to earn revenue from recreational activities. Annual spending for wildlife-associated recreation on private land is estimated at $814 million in day-use fees, $1.48 billion for long-term leases, and $14.8 billion to own land primarily for recreation (2011 dollars). Hunters own or lease properties of larger size classes than anglers or wildlife-watchers, indicating that hunting may provide a greater economic incentive for maintaining large unfragmented properties that provide a variety of conservation benefits. On grazing and cropland, landowners who earn income from recreation are significantly more likely to participate in government conservation programs (p < 0.001) and to pay for private conservation practices (p = 0.08). This provides support that recreation incentivizes conservation at higher rates than agricultural activities alone. Three policy measures that could further enhance conservation benefits of recreation are discussed.     

Land use determines interest in conservation easements among private landowners

Protection of private lands through conservation easements has garnered recent attention from scientists and conservation practitioners. Questions remain, however, about the specific characteristics and activities driving landowners’ interest in conservation easements and their willingness to consider granting them. Resolving these questions could improve prospects for private land conservation by helping land conservation organizations identify and better understand potential easement grantors. We conducted a survey of 513 private landowners in a peri-urban fringe area in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, USA. Logistic regression analysis returned seven significant predictors of landowner willingness to consider granting conservation easements. Participation in environmental organizations, recreational land-use activities, wild food gathering, and land entitlement were the strongest factors promoting interest in conservation easements. Long-term residency, male gender, and hunting or fishing, on the other hand, significantly decreased the likelihood of considering conservation easements. The findings suggest that landowners most interested in to granting conservation easements are active land users. Notably, among all the land-use activities reported, the most frequent and the most important in predicting interest in conservation easements are those undertaken for recreational and subsistence, rather than economic, purposes. This suggests that while easements might be appropriate for working lands, their role in reconciling land use with conservation requires a flexible definition of work.     

A dividing issue: Attitudes to the shooting of rear and release birds among landowners,hunters and the general public in Denmark

Why are organised shoots involving birds that are farm-reared and subsequently released a dividing issue in several countries? As a contribution to answering this question the paper reports a national survey of landowners (n = 1207), hunters (n = 1130) and the general public (n = 1001) in Denmark. While there was broad agreement across all three groups that recreational hunting of naturally occurring “surplus” wildlife is acceptable, the release of farm-reared game birds for shooting was a dividing issue, both within the groups and between them. The majority of participants (51%) in the survey representing the general public were against the practice; a majority of hunters (61%) were in favour of it; and landowner approval rates lay between these two poles. Respondents with a “mutualist” or “distanced” wildlife value orientation according to the definitions by Teel et al. (2005) consistently displayed a more negative attitude to rear and release shooting than those with a “utilitarian” orientation. The differences in attitude could not be explained in terms solely of underlying concerns about nature conservation and biodiversity protection. Concerns about the behaviour of the released birds, and about hunting “culture” and regulatory measures, also informed the participants’ attitudes. The regulatory framework governing shooting based on the release of farm-reared birds could reflect a wider range of concerns than those hitherto acknowledged.     

私有林与中国林业发展

发达国家和经济转型国家的私有林具有以下特征:木材生产大多由采伐公司承担,集约经营程度和竞争力与它的规模有较强的正相关性,公共品或准公共品性质趋强,以及非农林主增多、老龄林主增多、林地平均规模趋小等。根据国际经验判断,私有林也应成为中国林业发展的选择。在现阶段发展私有林,需要改进林木采伐管制,确保采伐指标的公平分配,削弱森林部门征收税费的能力,相信农民的能力,并规范政府的行为。     

Is recreational hunting important for landscape multi-functionality? Evidence from Denmark

Recreational hunting may be important to the shaping of the agricultural landscape. Land owners who hunt or lease out hunting rights have an incentive to promote landscapes that contain wildlife biotopes, which may serve wider societal values, such as landscape aesthetics, biodiversity, and preservation of valued and/or threatened animal and plant species. Recreational hunting may thus contribute to preserve and enhance landscape multifunctionality. Yet, little is known about the importance of hunting interests in motivating such landscape management. In this article, we seek to shed light on these issues on the basis of data from a nationally representative survey of Danish landowners. Our findings show a mixed picture of the role of recreational hunting in supporting multifunctional landscapes. We observe a broad swathe of landscape changes for multifunctionality cross properties with different forms of hunting utilization and non-hunted properties. The likelihood of such landscape changes is higher on holdings that are hunted by the owner or where the hunting is leased out, than on properties where the owner lets family or friends hunt for free or where there is no hunting. Non-hunted holdings are smaller and have a less varied land use pattern than larger, hunted holdings. Yet, some of their production characteristics appear to favor multifunctionality and they feature a high intensity of landscape changes that favor multifunctionality. In terms of policy implications, our results indicate that support for multifunctional landscapes should emphasize a broader focus on the interests and identity of different types of landscape managers in information and advisory services and stimulate owners of smaller holdings to cooperate across holdings and see their holding in a broader landscape context.     

Success Factors for Marketing Clubs in Alberta

This paper examines the factors most strongly associated with the perceived success of agricultural marketing clubs in Alberta. The literature suggests that members'perceptions of club success are a function of structural (group development, group diversity, meeting structure and outside support), process (goal formation, network formation and member commitment) and outcome factors (economic benefits). Data from a survey of 129 club leaders and members of agricultural marketing clubs in Alberta are used to examine the relationship between these factors and members'perception of success. The results suggest the most important factors are process factors, specifically goal and network factors. This research suggests that while marketing clubs provide a variety of benefits, members who view their clubs as successful belong to clubs that are able to articulate their main goals, steer the group toward reaching those goals, monitor the achievement of those goals over time and facilitate the formation of networks. Le présent article étudie les facteurs qui sont le plus fortement associés è la perception comme succés des clubs de commercialisation agricole en Alberta. La documentation suggère que la perception qu'ont les membres du succes d'un club est liée è des facteurs de structure (mise en place du groupe, diversité du groupe, structure des réunions et soutien extérieur), de processus (établissement de buts, établissement de réseau et implication des membres) et de résultats (bénéfices économiques). Les données fournies par un sondage auprès de 129 responsables et membres de clubs de commercialisation agricole en Alberta permettent d'étudier les rapports entre ces facteurs et la perception de succès qu'ont les membres. II s'avère que les facteurs les plus importants sont ceux de processus et, spécifiquement, ceux ayant trait aux huts et au réseau. La présente recherche indique que, malgré la diversité des bénéfices apportés par les clubs de commercialisation, les membres qui estiment que leur club est un succés appartiennent è des clubs qui savent définir leurs objectifs principaux, diriger le groupe vers l'atteinte de ces objectifs, mesurer l'atteinte de ces objectifs au fil du temps et faciliter la création de réseaux.     

Farmers’ Preferences for Production Practices: A Choice Experiment Study in the Rhone River Delta

This article examines farmers' preferences for both cropping and management practices, which are of policy interest because of their environmental impact. We present the results of a choice experiment survey of all agricultural decision makers in the Camargue region. A latent class model identified three classes. The main class encompasses farmers complying with the norms of the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI): Riz de Camargue. We estimated the monetary value of each of the relevant agricultural practices. Our results make a strong case for differentiating incentives to encourage environmentally friendly practices and identify the diversity of values attached to the main components of rice cropping technology in the area. Estimates of the implicit prices indicate that most rice growers can be persuaded to adopt environmentally friendly practices. These findings could help in designing targeted contracts according to farmers' preferences, in line with conservation or environmental objectives.     

Towards understanding and resolving the conflict related to the Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) conservation with participatory management planning

Conflicts often arise in relation to the conservation of protected predator species. If stakeholders are well defined and involved in participatory processes, their views and perceptions can be incorporated and steps can be made towards resolving such conflicts. In this paper, a case from Hungary is presented. In this case, a participatory management planning process was initiated in the Jászság Special Protection Area of European importance (SPA), within the frame of a LIFE+ project focusing on the conservation of the Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca). It provided a good opportunity to address a complex conflict situation between nature conservationists, game managers and farmers. We identified structural conflicts such as contradictions between direct agricultural payments and nature conservation goals, conflicts related to different views of the main influencing factors, relational problems between various stakeholders, and even differences in value orientation. The participatory management planning process was successful in clarifying the conflict situation and making productive steps toward a common understanding and resolution. Besides the mutually agreed conservation measures, the establishment of an administrative and financial incentive such as the high nature value area (HNVA) scheme proved to be an especially important factor for mitigating the conflict. It also contributed to a more successful realisation of nature conservation objectives in an area dominated by private land owners. However, continued interaction and cooperation are needed to stabilise this progress. Our paper also shows that stakeholder involvement in conservation management planning can transcend the strategic dimension of participation, and address broader common values besides the interests of land user groups.     

Estimating the mediating effect of privately-supplied green space on the relationship between urban public green space and property value: Evidence from Shanghai,China

Much of the housing in China’s cities built since the opening up of housing markets in the 1990s is organized in residential clubs, with neighbourhood civic goods and services constructed by private developers, financed by residents’ fees, managed by property-management companies and governed by resident associations. This means that there are now three important types of green space in Chinese cities: public green space (open-access parks), private green space (gardens, exclusive to a private home) and club green space (greenery exclusive to fee-paying estate residents). We ask a simple but profound question: how does this three-fold green space morphology and economy influence housing prices and, by implication, locational preferences in the city? More specifically, we test the hypothesis that the privately supplied green spaces withing club-communities substitute for publicly supplied green spaces in the public realm. We find evidence in support of this hypothesis, showing for example, that unlike other kinds of green space, public district parks have no measurable use value to Shanghai home-buyers, using a hedonic valuation model. If urban planners in China understood that their cities have become ‘cities of clubs’, then they would plan open space differently and scarce public funds could be redirected to other public goods and services with measurable demand.     

国内保护地役权研究评述：内涵阐释、作用机理与实践初探

研究目的：从内涵阐释、作用机理与实践探索等方面系统梳理当前国内有关保护地役权的研究成果，探讨未来研究方向与趋势。研究方法：文献研究法，归纳分析法，案例分析法。研究结果：保护地役权在法权性质上兼有公私属性，其通过调节私法利益与外部性内部化实现公益与私益的有效平衡。当前国内有关保护地役权的研究以理论研究为主，且就其入法路径尚有争论，相应的实践应用则处于探索阶段，未形成规范的实证研究体系。研究结论：在建立以国家公园为主体的自然保护地体系的现实背景下，引入保护地役权制度可推动实现人地关系平衡，未来在实践推广的基础上，需进一步开展保护地役权的参与互动研究与效果评估，进而探讨保护地役权的制度构建，研究法律调整的路径及其与相关制度的有效衔接。     

Barriers and Enablers of Long-term Land Leasing: a Case Study of Northern Ireland

Long-term land leasing offers a viable alternative to land ownership in relation to increasing efficiency of agricultural production, economies of scale, and delivering environmental improvements in terms of land management. However, with no significant tenanted sector in Northern Ireland, access to land via long-term land leasing is limited. This study analysed the barriers and enablers of long-term land leasing. To achieve our objective, we employed a mixed methods approach. The results show that the main barriers to long-term land leasing were environmental concern (around how the land will be managed), inheritance tax implications and the potential effect of long-term land leasing on future succession plans of the farm business. We also found that as much as 70 per cent of the farmers surveyed believe the inclusion of a ‘break clause’ and the introduction of income tax incentives will encourage the adoption of long-term land leasing, while 61 per cent of the farmers stated that the environmental management of the land will encourage long-term land leasing. The study concluded that any model designed to encourage long-term land leasing in Northern Ireland should include clauses which cover the environmental management of the land and break clauses. Income tax incentives for landowners could also be considered.     

Landscape Clubs: Co-existence of Genetically Modified and Organic Crops

The possibility of increased production of genetically modified (GM) crops in agriculture accentuates the need to examine the feasibility of GM and non‐GM technologies co‐existing on a common physical landscape. Using the theory of clubs, this paper examines the possibility of co‐existence for GM and organic wheat technologies through the formation of an organic club with an endogenously determined buffer zone. Given the available data on prices, and yields, it is shown that a club can be created in which GM and organic agricultural production technologies can economically co‐exist in the same physical landscape. Specifically, co‐existence results in an increase in economic welfare over a situation where only GM technology is used but is not Pareto superior because producers in the buffer zone will incur injury. We show that organic producers in the club can compensate producers in the buffer zone and still be better off. Hence, the compensation principle holds. La possibilité de production accrue de cultures génétiquement modifiées (GM) accentue la nécessité d'examiner la faisabilité de coexistence des technologies GM et non GM dans un même paysage agricole. À l'aide de la théorie des clubs, le présent article a examiné la possibilité de coexistence des technologies de culture de blé GM et de blé biologique en créant un club ?biologique? comprenant une zone tampon déterminée de façon endogène. Compte tenu des données disponibles concernant les prix et les rendements, il est montré qu'il est possible de créer un club au sein duquel les technologies de production de cultures biologiques et GM peuvent économiquement coexister dans un même paysage naturel. Spécifiquement, la coexistence engendre une augmentation du bien‐être économique par rapport à une situation où seule la technologie GM est utilisée, mais elle n'est pas Pareto supérieure parce que les producteurs dans la zone tampon subiront des dommages. Nous montrons que les producteurs de cultures biologiques membres du club peuvent indemniser les producteurs de la zone tampon tout en demeurant en bonne position. Le principe de compensation tient donc.     

Impact of land ownership and altitude on biodiversity evaluated by indicators at the landscape level in Central Italy

This study analyzed the ecological role of agroecosystems in maintaining landscape diversity and sustainability using selected indicators and indexes in Central Italy. The study focuses on analysing ecological systems at the landscape level to assess the environmental sustainability in terms of land cover composition and diversity. We used geographical information systems, landscape fragmentation and heterogeneity to determine the ecotone types and patch characteristics and gather useful information based on ownership (private and public areas) and altitude (plain, hilly, and mountain areas).The results showed that private areas had major landscape heterogeneity, which increased both the presence of ecotones and land cover diversification. There was a higher level of landscape heterogeneity and land cover diversification in plain and hilly areas, where agriculture was mostly present. There was also an increase of margins and/or hedgerows. Publicly owned areas generally had permanent land cover types, such as woods and pastures with low human influence, that induce biodiversity conservation. Privately owned areas were mainly characterized by cultivated land with high human influence that requires careful biodiversity management. However, most important ecological structures, such as ecotones, occurred where human land use intensity was at its highest level (plain-hilly areas and private ownership areas), and this could help to maintain and increase the biodiversity of the agricultural landscape. In Central Italy, there is an acceptable level of landscape sustainability achieved by integrating both private and public types of management.     

Abstracts of Second- and Third-Place Undergraduate Papers

This paper presents an analysis of the demand for hunting licenses in Alberta from 1968 to 2004. Regression analysis was used to estimate the effects of some of the commonly thought reasons for the decline in hunting participation in Alberta; specifically, the effects of changes in wildlife certificate prices, species license prices, income levels, and the proportion of the population living in urban areas. I found that hunting appears to be an inferior good since the income elasticity of demand was elastic—as provincial income levels increase, it is expected that less people will participate in hunting. In addition, the price elasticity of demand was inelastic indicating that raising license prices could theoretically generate increased revenues for wildlife management. I further hypothesize that if hunting participation needs to be increased for wildlife management purposes, it can be accomplished by decreasing the prices of licenses without directly affecting the revenue generated. Ultimately, we must realize that many of the hypothesized reasons for the decline in hunting participation in Alberta are qualitative and non-economic in nature and are thus difficult to include in most analyses. Whereas price and income are important determinants of hunting demand, they are only part of the story.     

Property-level assessment of change in forest clearing patterns: The need for tailoring policy in the Amazon

Once driven by large-scale clearings, Amazon deforestation now occurs mostly in small increments. Did this result from the emergence of a new group of agents or from a strategic adaptation in the behavior of those who led deforestation in the past? We address this question using georeferenced data on private rural properties and deforestation. We cross property-level and forest clearing data in an empirical setting designed to detect shifts toward clearing patches that were knowingly invisible to the monitoring system. We are therefore able to assess not only whether deforesters were responding strategically to stricter monitoring of deforestation, but also how this response differed across actor types. Results suggest that centralized policy efforts introduced starting in the mid-2000s inhibited medium- and large-scale deforestation, but had heterogeneous effects on small-scale deforestation. Although the relative participation of small deforestation polygons increased in both sample states, the relative participation of smallholders in total state deforestation increased in Pará, while remaining constant in Mato Grosso. We interpret these results as suggestive — albeit not causal — evidence that landholders strategically responded to the monitoring system by adapting their forest clearings practices to elude monitoring in both Mato Grosso and Pará. In the latter, however, the increase in smallholders’ share of annual deforestation suggests that their clearing practices were relatively less affected by what effectively contained deforestation in large properties. The apparent similarity in scale of deforestation across states conceals relevant baseline differences between the agents engaging in forest clearing in each locality. Tailoring policy to account for such differences could strengthen Brazilian conservation policy.     

Registration and release of customary-land for private enterprise: Lessons from Papua New Guinea

Land held under customary tenure has proven difficult to register and release for private enterprise globally. This is because the costs of developing secure rights to land held under communal ownership is high given that such ownership rules out a ‘pay-to-use-the-property’ system while punitive negotiation and policing costs make a ‘pay-him-not-to-use-the-property’ system ineffective (Demsetz, 1967, p. 355). Here I document reforms to institutions governing access to land held under customary title in Papua New Guinea that has imbedded collective ownership whilst allowing for a ‘pay-to-use-the-land’ for private enterprise. Reforms put in place over the past decade have allowed for voluntary incorporation of landowning clans, the registration of their land, and the leasing of this land for up to 99 years. The ongoing reforms provide lessons both for Papua New Guinea and for others wrestling with the challenges of making available land held by customary groups for individual enterprise.     

林业改革30年的进展与评价

在简述农村改革进展,总结农村改革成功基本经验的前提下,回顾了林业发展与改革的进展,对林业改革进行了总体评价与思考。林业改革计划经济体制的过程主要包括:推行政企分开,实行木材价格双轨制,实行林业生产承包制。林业构建市场经济体制的过程主要包括:实施森林分类经营,构建权利公平与效率优先相结合的林业发展机制;构建旨在促进防护林体系建设的激励机制;构建促进产业林业发展的竞争机制;构建公益林可持续经营的转移支付机制。林业改革由单一政府推动,逐步拓展到政府、市场、社区和国民共同推动,是中国林业改革进展的显著标志之一。中国林业改革的过程,也是产业发展生态化和生态建设产业化的过程。林业人应承担的责任是,通过集约经营把中国2.828亿hm2林业用地的生产力充分释放出来,基本解决13亿人的林产品需求,促进林区经济发展。