Farm advisors' perspectives on barriers and opportunities for wetland creation - the view from Sweden

Abstract

Farm advisors are important knowledge transfer agents for improving rural sustainability. Most literature focuses on their role in improving farm economies, but they can also promote greater environmental sustainability. Across Europe, most natural wetlands have been drained, impacting multiple ecosystem services (ES) including biodiversity support and nutrient retention, highlighting the need for increased restoration and creation efforts. In Sweden, these efforts depend on voluntary landowner actions. We interviewed farm advisors to learn how they encourage landowners to create and manage wetlands and the institutional barriers they still encounter. Advisors highlighted trust and long-term relationships as key success factors and considering landowner motivations that often prioritize recreational and cultural ES. Advisors noted overly complex bureaucracy, breaks in funding, inadequate long-term support, and lack of holistic perspectives as barriers for wetland creation. These insights about successful advisor/landowner interactions for wetland creation can be applied when implementing other agri-environmental measures.

Keywords

farm advisors; agri-environmental schemes; funding; landowners; wetlands; agriculture

Published in

Journal of Environmental Planning and Management
2024

SLU Authors

• Geranmayeh, Pia

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Futter, Martyn

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2024.2332386

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/140444