REECAP 7th Annual Meeting

Dutch farmers' attitudes to Waterschap De Dommel's spatially targeted water transition strategy

Not scheduled

20m

German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig

Using behavioral insights or economic psychology to improve food, agricultural, and agri-environmental policies Session Block

Speaker

Zsoka Halaszova

Description

The simultaneous desire for nature conservation and the ecosystem services it provides, alongside the challenge of land scarcity, presents an acute dilemma. One approach to addressing this challenge is to apply nature-inspired principles to agri-environmental policies, which can improve land-use efficiency.

In the Netherlands, the Waterschap De Dommel (2023) has introduced a novel policy framework based on catchment-based principles. This approach distinguishes between stream valleys, flanks, and high grounds (Figure 1). The high grounds play a key role in supporting a more stable water table in the flanks by enhanced infiltration and groundwater flow. Stream valleys, on the other hand, provide space for water storage, enabling better drainage in the flanks during pluvial floods. This strategy has implications for irrigation and drainage policies: for example, permits for wells and drainage systems are unlikely to be granted in stream valleys, which are designated as wet flood zones.

This policy framework sparks important discussions about its effectiveness in addressing both floods and droughts, as well as the equity consequences of spatial targeting. Firstly, Dutch policy has only recently shifted to address both flood and drought governance (Bartholomeus et al., 2023), making farmers' perceptions of spatial policies formulated in response to multi-hazard risks particularly valuable (Ward et al., 2020). Secondly, while spatial targeting can improve efficiency, it raises concerns about the fairness of outcome distributions (Wunder et al., 2018). There is a clear disparity between locations: farmers in stream valleys must contend with wet conditions, while their counterparts on the flanks may experience improved water availability. Therefore, discussions about fairness and equity are essential (Kaufmann et al., 2018).

In my study, I aim to explore farmers’ perceptions of this policy approach. I am gathering arguments both in favor of and against the policy through document analysis, news articles, interviews, workshops, and farmers’ forums. To analyze these perspectives, I am using Q-methodology to group farmers based on attitude-oriented statements. This will help identify the diverse viewpoints on the issue and, in turn, provide insights for refining the policy and tailoring communication strategies.