Development of strategies for conservation and restoration of biodiversity in agricultural areas

Informations

Funding country

Netherlands

Acronym

-

URL

-

Start date

9/1/1999

End date

12/31/2006

Budget

-

Fundings

Abstract

In recent decades biodiversity in agricultural areas has been declining dramatically. Because of the large area that is occupied by agricultural fields, halting or reversing the decline would contribute significantly to the conservation of biodiversity in the Netherlands. Efforts to conserve or restore the natural diversity in the agricultural sector are complicated by the economic functions of these areas and the large number of individual landowners (farmers). Strategies to stimulate biodiversity in agricultural areas should therefore occur at a scale relevant to the farmers (the farm-level) and the economic consequences of any proposed measure should should be analyzed carefully. The intensification of the agricultural production process has generally been held responsible for decline in biodiversity. The increased intensity can be separated in a spatial component (e.g. increase in field size) and in a land-use component (e.g. increased use of agro-chemicals). The aim of this proposal is to determine how biodiversity can be protected and restored at the farm level while maintaining a cost-effective agronomic production. This will be achieved by determining (1) how the land-use intensity and spatial configuration of the landscape affects biodiversity on farm and (2) what will be the economic effects of various combinations of spatial configuration and land-use intensity. The relationships that result from these studies will be integrated with a spatially explicit model to find out (3) what are the optimal land-use strategies to stimulate biodiversity in a cost effective manner? The project will result in options for agricultural land-use within a range of economical characteristics and various levels of biodiversity. The outcome will increase insight of policy makers in the interactions between agriculture and biodiversity and may be used to aid farmers to conserve and restore biodiversity at the farm level. The results will yield essential information for evaluation or design of land reform projects.