Landscape Amenities

Provision of landscape amenities, assured by farmers in addition to their economic function to produce food and fibre, has contributed to a reassessment of the place of agriculture in society. Farming should be regarded as 'multifunctional' whereby diverse roles fulfilled by farmers can be identified. The present book mainly tries to formulate an answer to following questions: What is the economic value for society of the farmers' role as stewards of the countryside; and under which conditions are farmers willing to provide these landscape amenities? The challenge of this research is to value the agricultural landscape, as a non-commodity output from agriculture, both from a supply and demand perspective. The main conclusions from the analysis are that: 1. Positive amenities from agricultural activities play an important role in the demand for rural tourism, and there are significant marginal benefits for the general public from the provision of landscape amenities; 2. Farmers' willingness to participate in landscape programmes depend on the trade-off with food and fibre production, on the characteristics of the proposed policies or measures, on the nature of the farm and on the profile of the farmer.

Résumé
st t At the dawn of the 21 century, the impact of human beings on the environment continues to provide cause for concern. For some, what matters is the loss of so much that is beautiful and valuable in its own right. For others, the concern is with the effects of environmental degradation on human health and well-being. Whatever one's view, humans, like all living species, are remarkably adaptive. While this message should be familiar, all too many of the participants in the environmental debate seem unaware of 1 it. (David Pearce ) 1. BACKGROUND AND SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH Today, farmers' role in society is subject to many debates. This research is motivated by the need to have more insight into the changing character and the role of agriculture. It is clear that today's agriculture has a much broader significance for society than the mere provision of food and renewable resources. The achievement of sustainable forms of agriculture as well as its multifunctional role are now widely recognised. Promoting the positive environmental effects of agriculture and avoiding negative ones, has become one of the central issues of agricultural policy, both in the European context, in international negotiations (WTO) and at national level (manure action plan, sustainability, peri-urban agriculture). Recently, multifunctionality appeared very high on the political agenda. In the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations, the concept of multifunctionality contributes to the current debate about agricultural protection.

Contenu

Multifunctionality of Agriculture.- Multifunctionality in a Theoretical Framework.- Valuing the Outputs of Multifunctional Agriculture.- Landscape Amenities from Agriculture.- Demand for Landscape Amenities from Agriculture.- Rural Tourism.- Impact from Agriculture on Rural Tourism.- Measuring the Recreational Value of the Agricultural Landscape.- Supply of Landscape Amenities from Agriculture.- Farmers' Supply of Landscape Amenities.- Belgian Farmers' Willingness to Participate in Agri-Environmental Measures.- Farmers' Participation in Several Agri-Environmental Schemes: A European Perspective.- General Conclusions.- Conclusions and Policy Recommendations.