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German pig farmers’ perceived agency under different nitrogen policies
2021, Stuhr, Luisa, Bodirsky, Benjamin Leon, Jaeger-Erben, Melanie, Beier, Felicitas, Hunecke, Claudia, Collignon, Quitterie, Lotze-Campen, Hermann
Agricultural nitrogen (N) emissions represent the most substantial N source in Germany. Even though multiple policies have been introduced at the EU and German national level to reduce agriculturally sourced reactive Nitrogen (N), Germany is exceeding the target of the government's national sustainability strategy to limit N surpluses. To form a better view of the current N policy challenges, this paper seeks to identify what constrains family-managed pig farmers in Germany from adopting N-reduced farming practices. Our study applies a practice-based approach and reconstructs farmers' practice and individual perception of the possible capability to change practices (perceived agency) through problem-centred interviews. The study identifies different ideal types of farmers based on their reported farming practices and perceived agency: The first type feeling overburdened and weary of the current requirements, the second type acting based on routine and incremental improvement efforts, and the third type adapting early and inventing. However, regarding the perceived agency to adopt N-reduced farming practices our results show that all three farmer types report only low to little agency. Based on the findings, the study identifies type-specific and type-spanning constraining factors. To resolve farmers' perceived contradictions and inconsistencies which result in the unwillingness to accept further N reduction measures, we argue that policies need to address these factors. To enhance long-term paths for sustainable N-reduced farming practices, this study concludes that N policies need to shift towards outcome-oriented policies to create a collective and holistic understanding of the desired outcome while considering their embeddedness into regional and individual contexts.
Hydro-Economic Modelling for Water-Policy Assessment Under Climate Change at a River Basin Scale: A Review
2020, Expósito, Alfonso, Beier, Felicitas, Berbel, Julio
Hydro-economic models (HEMs) constitute useful instruments to assess water-resource management and inform water policy. In the last decade, HEMs have achieved significant advances regarding the assessment of the impacts of water-policy instruments at a river basin or catchment level in the context of climate change (CC). This paper offers an overview of the alternative approaches used in river-basin hydro-economic modelling to address water-resource management issues and CC during the past decade. Additionally, it analyses how uncertainty and risk factors of global CC have been treated in recent HEMs, offering a discussion on these last advances. As the main conclusion, current challenges in the realm of hydro-economic modelling include the representation of the food-energy-water nexus, the successful representation of micro-macro linkages and feedback loops between the socio-economic model components and the physical side, and the treatment of CC uncertainties and risks in the analysis.