TY - JOUR

T1 - Moving (back) to greener pastures?

T2 - Social benefits and costs of climate forest planting in Norway

AU - Iversen, Endre Kildal

AU - Lindhjem, Henrik

AU - Jacobsen, Jette Bredahl

AU - Grimsrud, Kristine

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Norway is considering a national afforestation program for greenhouse gas sequestration on recently abandoned semi-natural pastureland. However, the program may have negative impacts on landscape aesthetics and biodiversity. We conducted a nation-wide choice experiment survey to estimate non-market values, combined with secondary data on program costs and other impacts, to derive the social net return on land use scenarios. Our results indicate that the scenarios where either half of the abandoned pastures are recovered, or half of the pastures are recovered, and a quarter are designated to the climate forest program, yields the highest net present value. The net present value of all land use scenarios remains positive when limiting the aggregation of willingness to pay to rural households, and when allowing for potential hypothetical bias in benefit estimates and cost increases. Results indicate that landscape and biodiversity values are substantial and should be considered when designing agricultural and climate policies.

AB - Norway is considering a national afforestation program for greenhouse gas sequestration on recently abandoned semi-natural pastureland. However, the program may have negative impacts on landscape aesthetics and biodiversity. We conducted a nation-wide choice experiment survey to estimate non-market values, combined with secondary data on program costs and other impacts, to derive the social net return on land use scenarios. Our results indicate that the scenarios where either half of the abandoned pastures are recovered, or half of the pastures are recovered, and a quarter are designated to the climate forest program, yields the highest net present value. The net present value of all land use scenarios remains positive when limiting the aggregation of willingness to pay to rural households, and when allowing for potential hypothetical bias in benefit estimates and cost increases. Results indicate that landscape and biodiversity values are substantial and should be considered when designing agricultural and climate policies.

KW - Biodiversity

KW - Climate forest

KW - Cost-benefit analysis

KW - Discrete choice experiment

KW - Nonuse values

KW - Pastures

U2 - 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104390

DO - 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104390

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85076999586

VL - 107

JO - Land Use Policy

JF - Land Use Policy

SN - 0264-8377

M1 - 104390

ER -