▪ Significant positive correlations existed between the level of motivation and the effectiveness rating of all policy factors , indicating that more highly motivated respondents — irrespective of the nature of the motivation — saw value in various policy approaches to conservation .
▪ There were two exceptions , namely no correlation was found between stewardship & lifestyle motivation and community involvement and regulation , and between social motivation and financial incentives . The first case may reflect a situation where highly stewardship & lifestyle motivated landholders are indifferent to ‘ a stick ’, in the form of regulation , and community assistance with implementation actions . The second case may indicate that graziers with high social motivation primarily seek non-financial policy support .
7.3.5 Survey of northern Australian pastoralists : Willingness to participate in conservation contracts A survey of pastoralists and graziers across northern Australia I 2013 used a choice experiment to the factors determining participation in potential voluntary biodiversity conservation programs ( Greiner et al . 2014 ). Of 104 landholders interviewed , 61 were from Queensland including 17 from the Burdekin River catchment . While the research was about participation in time-limited conservation contracts , there were general findings of interest in the context of BMP implementation ( Greiner 2015a , b ).
• The principal factors explaining participation choice across the northern pastoral industry were the contract attributes . Foremost was the level of stewardship payment offered in relation to the land productivity and the perceived impacts of the contractually required land management changes on farm operations . Shorter contracts were preferred to longer contracts . Flexible contracts were preferred to those not offering flexibility . This means that all aspects pertinent to financial favourability ( i . e . direct benefits / costs and opportunity costs ), and riskiness ( flexibility and contract duration ) influence whether landholders choose to participate .
• Landholders have heterogeneous preferences for contract attributes . This is important to consider in the design of any conservation program as programs tailored to an average set of preferences will appeal to few and are destined to be ineffective and inefficient because they will have little uptake . Tailoring is critical for maximising landholder participation . Tailoring to preferences is particularly important in situations where the participation of an individual landholder or a small number of landholders can be critical to achieving a ( water quality / biodiversity / etc ) conservation goal due to the locality and size of a property .
• The motivational profile of pastoralists and graziers across northern Australia was identical to the one developed for Burdekin graziers almost 10 years earlier . The research confirmed that many graziers are intrinsically motivated to look after their land and the natural assets . It has been shown that landholders with high intrinsic motivation typically report higher levels of adoption of conservation practices . Because they pursue stewardship goals , such landholders are more easily engaged in conservation initiatives and they require comparatively less of a financial incentive to participate in programs .
• Empirical evidence for the northern grazing industry indicates that there is no significant influence on the decision to participate in contractual biodiversity conservation based on property size , geographical location , whether properties are family-operated or corporation-owned , age and education level of pastoralists , and previous experience with conservation programs . Therefore , likely participation cannot be predicted on the basis of socio-economic descriptors .
• Many landholders lack a clear understanding of their biodiversity assets , the impact of grazing practices on biodiversity , and how changes in grazing regimes can help to restore and safeguard biodiversity . The same is likely to apply in the context of water quality impacts and improvements .
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