Preferences of Local People for the Use of Peatlands: the Case of the Richest Peatland Region in Finland
We analyze the potential for socioeconomically sustainable peatland use by investigating conflicting interests, revealing trade-offs that people are willing to accept, and studying whether opinions are dependent on socioeconomic and demographic factors. Opinions toward five forms of peatland use and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Resilience Alliance
2013-06-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol18/iss2/art19/ |
| _version_ | 1818893811851460608 |
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| author | Anne Tolvanen Artti Juutinen Rauli Svento |
| author_facet | Anne Tolvanen Artti Juutinen Rauli Svento |
| author_sort | Anne Tolvanen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We analyze the potential for socioeconomically sustainable peatland use by investigating conflicting interests, revealing trade-offs that people are willing to accept, and studying whether opinions are dependent on socioeconomic and demographic factors. Opinions toward five forms of peatland use and seven peatland ecosystem services were surveyed in Northern Ostrobothnia in northern Finland in 2011. Choice experiment (CE) was used to reveal trade-offs in land use preferences, and groups of respondents were identified using the latent class model (LCM). We identified three classes of respondents in which environmentalists showed a high preference toward the cessation of peat production and increase of peatland restoration, the production-oriented class preferred an increase in timber and peat production areas, and the current use supporters agreed on the present land use policy. However, all respondent classes agreed on the increase of nature protection and the present level of timber production and disagreed on the cessation of restoration. The CE revealed that environmentally minded people who are likely to consider the indirect use values and existence values important are less willing to make trade-offs between ecosystem services than those who emphasize direct use values. Because peatland restoration occurs in commercially unproductive peatlands, it improves both the direct use and existence values without reducing provisioning services of peatlands. Therefore, restoration is commonly accepted by the public, in contrast to management options that involve clear trade-offs between ecosystem services. We conclude that the understanding of preferences and trade-offs can enhance sustainable land use planning. It may be unrealistic, however, to expect a solution that all interest groups would completely accept. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T18:18:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-30ca0c5bd99346588064e9b8868f2ca5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1708-3087 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T18:18:32Z |
| publishDate | 2013-06-01 |
| publisher | Resilience Alliance |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-30ca0c5bd99346588064e9b8868f2ca52022-12-21T20:11:03ZengResilience AllianceEcology and Society1708-30872013-06-011821910.5751/ES-05496-1802195496Preferences of Local People for the Use of Peatlands: the Case of the Richest Peatland Region in FinlandAnne Tolvanen0Artti Juutinen1Rauli Svento2Finnish Forest Research Institute, FinlandFinnish Forest Research Institute, FinlandDepartment of Economics, University of Oulu, FinlandWe analyze the potential for socioeconomically sustainable peatland use by investigating conflicting interests, revealing trade-offs that people are willing to accept, and studying whether opinions are dependent on socioeconomic and demographic factors. Opinions toward five forms of peatland use and seven peatland ecosystem services were surveyed in Northern Ostrobothnia in northern Finland in 2011. Choice experiment (CE) was used to reveal trade-offs in land use preferences, and groups of respondents were identified using the latent class model (LCM). We identified three classes of respondents in which environmentalists showed a high preference toward the cessation of peat production and increase of peatland restoration, the production-oriented class preferred an increase in timber and peat production areas, and the current use supporters agreed on the present land use policy. However, all respondent classes agreed on the increase of nature protection and the present level of timber production and disagreed on the cessation of restoration. The CE revealed that environmentally minded people who are likely to consider the indirect use values and existence values important are less willing to make trade-offs between ecosystem services than those who emphasize direct use values. Because peatland restoration occurs in commercially unproductive peatlands, it improves both the direct use and existence values without reducing provisioning services of peatlands. Therefore, restoration is commonly accepted by the public, in contrast to management options that involve clear trade-offs between ecosystem services. We conclude that the understanding of preferences and trade-offs can enhance sustainable land use planning. It may be unrealistic, however, to expect a solution that all interest groups would completely accept.http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol18/iss2/art19/choice experimentconflict managementecosystem servicesland use management |
| spellingShingle | Anne Tolvanen Artti Juutinen Rauli Svento Preferences of Local People for the Use of Peatlands: the Case of the Richest Peatland Region in Finland Ecology and Society choice experiment conflict management ecosystem services land use management |
| title | Preferences of Local People for the Use of Peatlands: the Case of the Richest Peatland Region in Finland |
| title_full | Preferences of Local People for the Use of Peatlands: the Case of the Richest Peatland Region in Finland |
| title_fullStr | Preferences of Local People for the Use of Peatlands: the Case of the Richest Peatland Region in Finland |
| title_full_unstemmed | Preferences of Local People for the Use of Peatlands: the Case of the Richest Peatland Region in Finland |
| title_short | Preferences of Local People for the Use of Peatlands: the Case of the Richest Peatland Region in Finland |
| title_sort | preferences of local people for the use of peatlands the case of the richest peatland region in finland |
| topic | choice experiment conflict management ecosystem services land use management |
| url | http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol18/iss2/art19/ |
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