Land Manager Preferences for Outcome-Based Payments for Ecosystem Services in Oak Savannahs

Land managers’ preferences towards practice- and outcome-based payments for ecosystem services are analysed using a labelled choice experiment applied to a Mediterranean oak savannah (dehesa or montado) as a case study. Results indicate that land managers prefer outcome- to practice-based payments, most probably because they are opposed to the restrictive practices included as requirements in the latter. This preference strongly depends on the environmental policy objective, with land managers being more willing to participate when the outcome-based payment targets carbon sequestration rather than biodiversity. Willingness to accept (WTA) significantly increases when the payment involves a remote-sensing monitoring system, but only for practice-based payments. This finding hints at differing views of the monitoring system depending on the type of scheme, with the use of a remote-sensing system recommended for outcome-based payments due to the lack of opposition. However, a complementary analysis focusing on acreage decision shows non-significant WTA values for practice-based payments when the requirement of the area enrolled is relaxed, suggesting that land managers may be trading off monitoring intensity against the probability of defaulting. Significant preference heterogeneity is observed, mostly explained by farms’ structural and management characteristics. Relevant policy implications can be drawn from the results