Factors affecting farmers' willingness to participate in eutrophication mitigation - A case study of preferences for wetland creation in Sweden

Local stakeholder participation in water management is emphasized in the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). Wetland creation to mitigate nutrient leakage from agriculture is one example where participation of local farmers is needed. In this case study of the Himmerfjärden coastal catchment, south of Stockholm, Sweden, we assessed the importance of socio-demographic factors, and of the existing agri-environmental scheme (AES), for their effects on farmers' willingness to create wetlands on their farms. The main factors from the AES were defined as five attributes in a discrete choice experiment approach, related to the current AES for wetland creation in the area. The results showed that approximately 30% of the farmers were interested in wetland creation. A common reason for not wanting to create wetlands was cost incurred by the farmer. Males were significantly more willing than females to create wetlands. Prior knowledge of the WFD increased willingness almost threefold, and land owners were significantly more willing than leaseholders. The choice experiment showed that higher cost ceiling for compensation, compensation percentage and annual subsidies can significantly increase the willingness to create wetlands. However, other options like result-oriented AES may be taken into consideration to attract the remaining 70% of all farmers.