The Social Fit of Conservation Policy on Working Landscapes

Abstract

The working landscapes approach is valuable for extending conservation beyond the boundaries of strict protected areas. Conservation on working landscapes relies heavily on social acceptance and the alignment of conservation programs with local livelihoods. This paper examines farmers and ranchers’ preferences for different policy instruments and incentives that form programs for endangered species conservation in Canada's temperate grassland ecosystem—one of the most imperiled ecosystems on earth. Generally, farmers and ranchers are more concerned about the restrictions that programs impose than they are about the amount of funding the programs provide. Although, trust in the program delivery agent is also a key consideration. Overall, farmers and ranchers prefer instruments that maintain their property rights and provide continuous financial incentives. Additionally, they prefer shorter-term contracts to longer-term contracts or agreements in perpetuity. Many of their preferences extend beyond status quo conservation in Canada, which relies heavily on restrictions, non-continuous financial incentives (i.e., one-time payments), and long-term agreements. We need to augment the existing suite of programs to include flexible and adaptive options to maintain, improve and protect grasslands and the species that depend on them.