The role of multi-target policy instruments in agri-environmental policy mixes

Navigating agricultural nonpoint source pollution governance: A social network analysis of best management practices in central Pennsylvania

The Chesapeake Bay watershed is representative of governance challenges relating to agricultural nonpoint source pollution and, more generally, of sustainable resources governance in complex multi-actor settings. We assess information flows around Best Management Practices (BMPs) undertaken by dairy farmers in central Pennsylvania, a subregion of the watershed. We apply a mixed-method approach, combining Social Network Analysis, the analysis of BMP-messaging (i.e. information source, flow, and their influences), and qualitative content analysis of stakeholders' interviews. Key strategic actors were identified through network centrality measures such as degree of node, betweenness centrality, and clustering coefficient. The perceived influence/credibility (by farmers) of BMP-messages and their source, allowed for the identification of strategic entry points for BMP-messages diffusion. Finally, the inductive coding process of stakeholders' interviews revealed major hindrances and opportunities for BMPs adoption. We demonstrate how improved targeting of policy interventions for BMPs uptake may be achieved, by better distributing entry-points across stakeholders. Our results reveal governance gaps and opportunities, on which we draw to provide insights for better tailored policy interventions. We propose strategies to optimize the coverage of policy mixes and the dissemination of BMP-messages by building on network diversity and actors' complementarities, and by targeting intervention towards specific BMPs and actors. We suggest that (i) conservation incentives could target supply chain actors as conservation intermediaries; (ii) compliance-control of manure management planning could be conducted by accredited private certifiers; (iii) policy should focus on incentivizing inter-farmers interaction (e.g. farmers' mobility, training, knowledge-exchange, and engagement in multi-stakeholders collaboration) via financial or non-pecuniary compensation; (iv) collective incentives could help better coordinate conservation efforts at the landscape or (sub-)watershed scale; (v) all relevant stakeholders (including farmers) should be concerted and included in the discussion, proposition, co-design and decision process of policy, in order to take their respective interests and responsibilities into account.

Exploring the diversity and consistency of China’s information technology policy

Information technology (IT) policies have played an indispensable role in China’s IT research and development (R&D) and industrial development. However, there has been a lack of quantitative and clear understanding of the consistency and diversity of China’s IT policy mixes. In this article, we constructed policy target network to simulate the real policy mixes. Based on the distribution and evolution of networks, we identify and analyse the ‘diversity’ and ‘consistency & continuity’ of China’s IT policy. Our results show that China’s IT policies cover 12 different demands, and each demand corresponds to 5–10 core policy goals. At the same time, we divide the history of IT policy into seven periods and compare the characteristics of each period. Despite the scale of the policy mixes continuing to expand, the synergy between different policy targets has become clearer, forming unique communities. Among them, there are 25 core policy targets that reflect varying degrees of consistency and continuity. This study not only deepens the understanding of China’s policy characteristics and patterns, but also provides a quantitative framework for the assessment of policy consistency and diversity.

Quantitative analysis of economic and environmental benefits for land fallowing policy in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region (BTH region) is a major crop-producing region of China suffering from environment deterioration. Land fallowing policy is widely used as the solution of agriculture-related environment pollution, while it is difficult to derive a quantitative basis for policy-making. An indicator system was established to quantitatively analyse economic and environmental benefits of land fallow policies in the BTH region. The system consisted of 8 indicators to describe the water, air and economic influences caused by land fallowing policy such as the amount of nutrient discharged, the emission of PM_2.5-related and greenhouse gas, and the input and output of agriculture production. SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) and IAP-N (Improving Anthropogenic Practices of managing reactive Nitrogen) models were used to quantify environmental indicators. Five scenarios with different planting patterns and fallow intensities were simulated for five years with different hydrological conditions. It is found that the influence of policy on water environment is highly sensitive to hydrological conditions, while the influence on air environment and economy are more affected by different policy settings in scenarios. The marginal utilities of the fallowed area are indicator-dependent. Planting alternative crops can decrease production costs and keep crop yields, while may also cause atmospheric environmental pollution if the crops have nitrogen fixing ability. Indicators also have spatial and temporal heterogeneity under different planting patterns and fallow intensities. A policy evaluation and associated uncertainty analysis is essential for effective implementation. The analysis framework established could support decision-making in regions facing agri-environmental problems.

Carbon policy for the United States, China and Nigeria: An estimated dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model

In recent years there has been significant interest in the connection between energy policy and carbon-emitting factors, with significant emphasis on fixing policy gaps. This paper explores the impact of energy policy in curbing the effect of carbon emission in the United States, China and Nigeria. It offers an empirical insight into the effect of energy policy on carbon emission disclosure of the selected countries' economies. Since understanding future decisions on energy use is uncertain, the study develops, interacts and simulates a simple model for analysing the nexus between the energy sector and environmental policy within the uncertain business environment. The omission in the majority of available literature is that it is unclear if the precise reduction in carbon emission is consistent with the carbon tax levied on economic agents. At best, the evidence gathered points to a fresh impetus on energy policy to accommodate business cycles, even if carbon emission must be mitigated. This study, therefore, analyses the subjective behaviour of an economic agent in the context of carbon emission and the depreciating quality of life. The empirical evidence is based on the Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) model. The paper submits that policy direction towards a carbon-free environment, when properly channelled, would impact positively on decarbonisation. Simulation conducted shows that pollution is highly connected with macroeconomic fluctuation, and environmental policy can only be effective when both variables are considered in the context of the DSGE framework. Thus, the study strongly recommends broader carbon tax reform and a proactive monetary stance to mitigate carbon emission and motivate new renewable energy investors.

Assessment of spatial variability of multiple ecosystem services in grasslands of different intensities

Grasslands provide multiple Ecosystem Services (ES) such as forage provision, carbon sequestration or habitat provision. Knowledge about the trade-offs between these ES is of great importance for grassland management. Yet, the outcome of different management strategies on ES provision is highly uncertain due to spatial variability. We aim to characterize the provision (level and spatial variability) of grassland ES under various management strategies. To do so, we combine empirical data for multiple ES with spatially explicit census data on land use intensities. We analyzed the variations of five ES (forage provision, climate regulation, pollination, biodiversity conservation and outdoor recreation) using data from biodiversity fieldwork, experimental plots for carbon as well as social network data from Flickr. These data were used to calculate the distribution of modelled individual and multiple ES values from different grassland management types in a Swiss case study region using spatial explicit information for 17,383 grassland parcels. Our results show that (1) management regime and intensity levels play an important role in ES provision but their impact depends on the ES. In general, extensive management, especially in pastures, favors all ES but forage provision, whereas intensive management favors only forage provision and outdoor recreation; (2) ES potential provision varies between parcels under the same management due to the influence of environmental drivers, related to topography and landscape structure; (3) there is a trade-offs between forage provision and other ES at the cantonal level but a synergy between forage provision and biodiversity conservation within the grassland categories, due to the negative impact of elevation on both ES. Information about multiple ES provision is key to support effective agri-environmental measures and information about the spatial variability can prevent uncertain outputs of decision-making processes.