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Economic valuation of environmental goods and services are formed from modeling techniques that render the derived information incomplete and insufficient for policy-making applications. Contingent valuation methods reduce information into single metrics that leave out significant information, since environmental goods and services are characterized by multiple factors and attributes that cannot all be accounted for in the valuation process. Thus the resulting metric contains inherent uncertainties that would make decisions based upon it erroneous and unreliable.

• REDD+ projects are associated with an increase in forest carbon. • Forests recovered due to improved governance, community engagement, land use planning and capacity building. • REDD+ projects neither improved nor harmed livelihoods. • When designed appropriately, REDD+ has the potential to simultaneously improve welfare and reduce carbon emissions. This paper investigates the impacts of REDD+ in two pilot sites in the districts of Kilosa and Kondoa in Tanzania. We pose two questions: First: What are the impacts of REDD+ on social welfare? and second: What are the impacts of REDD+ on forest carbon storage? The study employs the Before-After/Control-Intervention research design and a mixed method approach to draw conclusions on REDD+ impacts. A theory-based evaluation is then used to understand the underlying causal mechanisms driving the observed changes. In estimating REDD+ impacts on income, we account for potential selection bias by matching pilot and control villages on factors likely to influence selection and outcomes and by using fixed effects panel data modelling. REDD+ impacts on forest carbon are measured using satellite imagery and ground truthing, combining data on the amount of forestland converted to other land uses, with information on how much carbon remains trapped in the forests after the land use changes. Results suggest that in terms of total income, REDD+ neither improves nor harms livelihoods in the two pilot areas. REDD+ however, increased forest income in the Kilosa pilot. REDD+ is also associated with increased forest carbon in both Kilosa and Kondoa. We discuss what could explain these seemingly contradictory developments. Three policy implications arise from the results 1) the need for REDD+ projects to involve NGOs/implementing partners that have a good understanding of local conditions, as local contexts play a central role in determining welfare and forest carbon outcomes 2) the importance of strengthening forest governance and management for facilitating a balance in livelihoods and forest cover improvements and 3) the significance of considering economic risk, safety nets and insurance against risk in the design of REDD+ projects, as a failure to do so, will lead to overexploitation of forests during periods of economic crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As DRC moves from REDD+ readiness to implementation, analysis of the causes of deforestation at the local level is paramount. The present study contributes to this by assessing both proximate and underlying causes of deforestation in two REDD+ pilots of the Équateur province. The study found that agricultural expansion through shifting cultivation is the main proximate cause of deforestation. This activity is accelerated by logging that simplifies clearing of land. Logging also contributes to the total biomass loss from the forest. Shifting cultivation is driven by the poverty conditions of the study area. Poverty is also linked to the political and institutional structures of forest governance. These structures are controlled by political elites who influence local decisions to clear forests. While actions to curb deforestation might be challenging, this study suggests that addressing the underlying causes through effective land use planning and developing robust accountable institutions while providing alternative economic opportunities to the local population are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delivers an evaluation of the credibility thesis (CT) based on perspectives from original institutional economics. I first ask in what kind of explanation CT is grounded. Emphasizing functionality and denouncing intentionality, may indicate that it adheres to a functionalist type. At the same time, it does not seem to fulfil the criteria for such an explanation. CT explicitly refutes the idea of institutions in equilibrium. Second, I evaluate the proposal underlying CT that function supersedes form. I conclude that such a position cannot be generally defended. Form may even in some cases define what is understood as functional. Third, I therefore ask how to explain what institutions evolve and persist if they neither are chosen intentionally nor stabilized by functionalist mechanisms like an equilibrium. While there is definitive merit to the thesis and the research it has motivated, my analysis points towards a need for some reformulations. • The paper evaluates Credibility Thesis (CT) based on Original Institutional Economics. • CT is well-founded critique of neoliberalism but needs strengthening in some areas. • Intentional explanations need to be included when excluding equilibrating forces. • Credibility measured as persistent forms may underestimate silencing. • Function vs Form are sides of same coin as economic agents act on Form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyse Norwegian farmers’ perspectives on the meaning of working in agriculture, their attitudes towards various aspects of multifunctional agriculture (MFA) and land use, and their evaluation of different forms of agricultural payments. The paper presents two linked studies, one Likert scale survey and one sub-sample Q-study. The Likert scale survey results show that the respondents identify themselves as producing not only high-quality food, but also public goods such as cultural landscapes and cultural heritage. Income maximisation is less important with respect to the self-identity for the respondents. The sub-sample Q-study identified two distinct perspectives of interest to the discussion about MFA policy. Perspective 1 farmers attach priority to fair income, food production and payment for food production as opposed to payments for public goods and income support. Perspective 2 farmers emphasise the importance of producing cultural landscapes, but have no strong preferences regarding the form of payments. The latter view is predominantly held by part-time farmers. The quality of the local landscape as valued by the local community had no effect on the perspectives farmers held. Our study reveals that fully replacing commodity price support with payments for public good production, or income support, is problematic for a substantial group of farmers, who would find farming to be less meaningful for them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whereas participatory processes have been advised as decision support to environmental management worldwide, the way different ways of organizing them influence outcomes of such processes have not been sufficiently addressed. In this study we reflect on two specific types of framings for participatory processes by examining one case dominated by stakeholders and another facilitating deliberation among citizens. Both processes concern coastal zone management in Norway. Whilst the main aim of the paper is to address how the framing of a participatory process influences its form and content, we also emphasize the distinct differences in outcomes from the two processes. Our analyses show that people are clearly acknowledging that there is a difference between acting as a citizen and as a stakeholder, and finding it unproblematic to identify themselves with such roles. Based on the findings, we reflect on their significance because fostering such logic throughout participatory processes may enhance our capacity to think both more long term and more principally about which values to protect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper analyses a set of generic options for national REDD+ governance structures – i.e., (a) a market/project based architecture; (b) a system with national REDD+ funds outside existing national administrations; (c) a national REDD+ fund organized under the present administration; and (d) conditional budget support. The analysis is based on experiences from different, but similar governance structures – e.g., the Clean Development Mechanism, payments for ecosystem services, environmental trust funds and various forms of budget support. While a solution with a market/project based structure has been favored by many, we conclude that this is the most problematic alternative. Concerning the other three, the national/local conditions will be of importance for their functioning. If REDD+ policies involve a large part of a county''s forested area, establishing a good link to the general forest and other sector policies will be necessary. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Stakeholder participation is frequently recommended to ensure that public values are taken into account in the decision-making processes. However, few attempts have been made to analyse the extent to which increasing stakeholder participation actually leads to better representation of the public values. The main aim of this study is to obtain more insights about reasons why the most frequently applied form of stakeholder participation, i.e. the public hearings, may fail in representing the general public views and values when applied at a local level. A case study was conducted on policy formulations and decision-making in the coastal zone on the island Flekkerøy in southern Norway. Local- and regional-public authorities contributed in in-depth interviews and with written documentation to inform about a comprehensive stakeholder participation process that took place in the early 1990s. The main findings include that landowner interests, and not public views and values, were legitimised during the participatory process because of: (1) the landowner''s strong local social power among inhabitants, (2) the design of the participatory processes favouring the landowner interests, (3) the personal relations between local landowners and public managers, and (4) the low representation of public views and values due to a problem of scale, i.e. the NIMBY syndrome. Based on our experience, we recommend improving representation of public views by changing the frequently applied participatory processes to also include citizens in addition to interest groups and experts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Red meat consumption is very habituated in Norway. • The red meat habit is strongly reinforced by pro-meat social norms. • Red meat consumption is quite strongly influenced by beliefs in its wholesomeness. • Climate friendly personal norms influence red meat consumption to some extent. • These norms are rooted partly in social pressure, partly in personal values. Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases is facilitated by changes in several consumption activities, such as food choices. This paper examines factors explaining red meat consumption in Norway, especially the role of climate concerns. The paper adds to our knowledge as most existing analyses of (red) meat consumption focus on health and animal welfare issues. Moreover, it expands our understanding by drawing on perspectives from both institutional and social psychological theory, including variables emphasizing the social dynamics behind consumption decisions. The study is based on data from a survey of 2000 people aged 18 years or older conducted in 2018. The data are analyzed using structural equation modelling. We find that there is a strong pro-meat culture in Norway, currently rather weakly influenced by climate concerns – specifically, personal norms and social pressures focused on reducing climate impacts. Instead, habits, beliefs about the qualities of red meat (being tasteful, nutritious, healthy) and social norms supporting red meat consumption are the three most important factors explaining the variation observed. Gender and income also influence red meat consumption, but less than found in other studies. The paper discusses policy implications of these findings, including for taxation, point-of-sale information and communicative processes to support changes in the perceptions of what could be a new "normal" diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The persistent observation of cooperative behavior in situations where defecting would be individually preferable challenges the standard hypothesis of individual utility maximization. This has advanced search for alternative ways of understanding choice. Proposals dominantly include expanding the kind of arguments to be included into the utility function. The paper identifies some pertinent problems with these explanations. An alternative model based on the idea of plural rationality and institutions-as-rationality-context is developed. The model is confronted with data from existing experiments. Implications for public policy and ideas for further research are emphasized. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The choice of resource regimes is a choice over the cost of transacting and the ability and willingness to cooperate. This paper argues that people may be willing to forgo individual gains for the sake of the common good. This depends, however, on the institutional context. Hence, it is argued that an important role of resource regimes is their capacity to define whether the issue is one of individual gain or cooperation. The paper builds its arguments on material from experiments in psychology and economics. They show that cooperative action dominates under certain institutional structures while individual gain is fostered in others. Moreover, studies of behavior in real-life institutional settings—e.g., of markets, common property regimes and public provisioning—support these findings. The lessons learned are finally used to introduce a discussion over the direction of institutional design being able to solve the growing problems of global environmental degradation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents a methodology for analyzing the effect of policies focused at reducing pollution from agriculture. Such a methodology must take into account that agricultural pollution is an effect of a large set of interacting processes, covers many different substances, and may vary substantially due to shifts in natural and economic conditions. Thus, the methodology must both cover the specificities of the different processes/disciplines involved and foster integration across these in a consistent way. The basic challenge is to cover the non-linear fine-scale variations at different levels of land-based production systems. Our methodology is founded on the idea of partitioning. It implies structuring and simplifying existing variation in space and time into partitions that are considered homogeneous. These partitions are organized in a hierarchy, and the different processes involved are modeled at the relevant level. We have concluded that analyses with fairly high level of resolution are preferable. This way it is also possible to combine a systems perspective with disciplinary integrity. A modeling structure – ECECMOD (2.0) – based on the developed principles is documented. The paper also shows the ability of this structure to simulate choice of farming practices and emissions that are well in accordance with observations from four Norwegian regions with very different agricultural and natural conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Within the last decade, implementing eight key principles of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has become mandatory for all professional users of pesticides in the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). Meanwhile, evidence of the level of implementation is lacking. In this study, the adoption of IPM principles among Norwegian grain farmers was measured using a novel IPM index based on self-reported levels of performing IPM practices. Three IPM experts weighted the principles and practices included in the index. They found prevention and suppression to be the most important principle, followed by monitoring and decision-making, while pesticide selection and evaluation were deemed least important. A survey of 1250 farmers showed that the principles with the highest adoption rates were evaluation and anti-resistance strategies, while non-chemical methods and reduced pesticide use had the lowest adoption rates. The results support previous suggestions that more complex principles, requiring a larger set of practices, are less readily adopted than those that are less complex. Nevertheless, the index scores showed that most Norwegian grain farmers are extensively practicing IPM; 75% of the respondents obtained scores between 60 and 80 on a 100-point scale, with an average score of 68. In the Norwegian context, it is more relevant to discuss the varying use of IPM rather than how to increase adoption in general. • We developed and tested a novel index method for assessing farmers' use of IPM. • Regional IPM experts were engaged to weight principles and key practices. • Norwegian grain farmers were found to extensively practice IPM. • Non-chemical methods and reduced pesticide use had highest improvement potential. • The assessment method may be relevant in other sectors and in comparable countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]