7.3.4 2008-09 North Australian landholders surveys : intrinsic motivations , barriers to the adoption of conservation To test the general applicability of the insights into adoption decisions by graziers found in the Burdekin catchment , additional surveys were conducted with graziers in the Queensland Northern Gulf region and in the Northern Territory during 2008-09 . While each survey pursued slightly different objectives , the questionnaires contained Likert scales derived from the 2006 Burdekin survey so the data sets could be combined . The total sample was 224 , with 85 Burdekin respondents , 76 in the Northern Gulf and 63 in the Northern Territory . Responses were principal component analysed and correlated with the following results ( Greiner and Gregg 2011 ):
• There were three principal motivations driving decision making : financial / economic motivation , conservation and lifestyle motivation and social motivation . This confirmed the factor structure that had been obtained for the Burdekin and also corroborated motivational models obtained by research elsewhere , which indicates that the motivational structure is generic . If motivations can be linked to the way landholders perceive barriers to adoption and would like to see external assistance provided for BMP implementation , then we can tailor assistance based on the knowledge of a landholder ’ s motivations .
• There were four principal impediment factors derived from ratings of individual barriers :
▪ ‘ Opportunity costs ’ represented constraints based on a view that conservation practices were not practical , not necessary and / or had adverse impacts on productivity / profitability .
▪ ‘ Resource constraints ’ represented capacity constraints in terms of labour , capital and time resources , and lack of external support .
▪ ‘ Uncertainty ’ captured barriers associated with uncertainty about the future of the property and tenure .
▪ ‘ Lack of industry cooperation ’ represented a perceived lack of consolidated industry position on the matter of BMPs , absence of recommended industry best practice standards and concerns about other landholders possibly failing to adopt the conservation practices and thereby jeopardizing achievement of the intended conservation outcomes and / or free riding on the achievements of those who adopted the practices .
• Respondents ’ ratings of policy instruments were also principal component analysed and resulted in a five factor model , which identified the principal categories of policy mechanisms typically stated in the literature , namely financial incentives ( positive incentives ), government regulation ( negative incentives ) and suasion tools ( e . g . Pannell , 2008 ). In addition , the model stressed the importance of signals conveyed by the social environment in which farmers operate , namely respect by their peers and appreciation by society as a whole . Importantly , the model recognized and highlighted as the prime factor the self-reliance of farmers and the farm planning and management tools available to them and the critical role that farmer organizations play in shaping opinion and facilitating use of tools .
• There were distinct correlations between motivations and perceived barriers to adoption , which suggest that landholders ’ values and world views do not only influence measurable motivations but also the way they see the realization of their goals constrained by different sets of circumstances .
▪ Respondents with higher financial / economic motivation tended to rate opportunity costs and resource constraints to be significantly more important than respondents with higher stewardship & lifestyle or social motivation .
▪ Respondents with higher social motivation were significantly more concerned about lack of industry cooperation .
▪ Respondents with strong stewardship & lifestyle motivation had significantly lower scores for opportunity costs as an impediment to the adoption of conservation measures .
• Similarly , there were distinct correlations between motivations and preferred policy approaches to support adoption , which suggests that motivations shape receptiveness to different types of policy interventions .
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