NATURALEZA DE LA EVALUACIÓN EN MATEMÁTICAS. 3

The data collected in the field have allowed exploring how farmers perceive the environmental services that they carry out, how such services fit in their farming strategies and which are the main motivations of farmers to adhere to the project. The results of the research confirm what several economists have already demonstrated: in many cases the participation into PES is strongly motivated by private benefits. Indeed, farmers adhered to the proposed scheme because they believed that they would gain from participation both directly, by having access to the specific funding for monitoring and for carrying out the first maintenance works and indirectly, by increasing the opportunities to collaborate also with other government agencies.

According to the coordinator of the project, since the possibility of first intervention works is led by the monitoring activities, in some cases farmers tend to exceed in signalling the need of intervention in order to increase the possibility to carry out the first intervention works.

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In fact, in some cases, farmers may decrease the monitoring activities when the local agency does not assign the first intervention works to them, either for lack of available funding, either because the work is of higher entity (in terms of machinery available and competencies) and is to be assigned to specialized companies or cooperatives. Farmers perceived this type of PES as an efficient way to optimize and rationalize farms activities (use of labour, machineries and spare time) but also to increased visibility in their areas. Indeed, many farmers perceive the project as a good opportunity to make further collaboration with other public agencies.

Farmers during the interviews have highlighted that monitoring is an activity that they usually carry out mainly during the idle time, and it represents an interesting complement to productive activities. The monitoring also helps to engage employees at a time when there is a lack of activity in the farms. In many cases this activity fits well with the hobby activities of farmers such as hunting and fishing and mushroom picking. Similarly, the first intervention works were considered important income integration in periods of scarce activities in the farms (i.e. during the winter and in raining days).

As showed by Muradian et al. (2010), the economic incentives are just one of the main drivers that may influence farmers’ behaviour and farmers’ willingness to adhere to the PES. The data collected on the field confirmed that, and allowed to identify farmers’ motivations and attitudes which go well beyond the private and economic interests, but which are more related to the personal sphere and to their identities.

For many farmers the reasons for joining the project are related to their personal passions, skills and ideas and, above all, emphasised how the project contributed to renovate their identity of farmers, which in many cases is closely linked to the social and institutional recognition of their role as ‘custodians’ of the territory.

Many farmers expressed their concerns about the increasing farming abandonment of those marginal and mountain areas and they perceived the project as an opportunity to increase the recognition for their role of landscape stewards. As put it by a farmer:

There is also some pride in participating in this project. We can change something in people conscience and awareness. When people see a farmers working outside the farms for preventing hydro-geological disasters and flooding they may think that there is something important to think about, the environment, and maybe farmers may help us to increase the safety and the beauty of our territory (INTERVIEW n. 13).

Some farmers have emphasized that their participation into the project makes them feeling directly involved in the management of the territory and this is view also as a social role, since the services provided may increase local people awareness on the importance of the farmers’ stewardship in mountain areas.

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Another interesting issue that emerged during the interviews, it was the qualitative aspect of the activities that may ensure the local farmers, compared to other local actors who potentially could be involved into the PES. Indeed, the approach of farmers in delivering the environmental services was described by the representative of the local agency as ‘different in qualitative terms’ compared to the approach of the local agency workers of specialised cooperatives workers. The technicians working for the local agency have emphasized that in many cases, in delivering the environmental services, farmers put the same commitment and dedication of their farming activities. While the approach to the work of public or private employees are mainly regulated by the contract of employment (with annual leave, work permits and other types of permits), farmers who have joined the project consider the environmental services activities as one of their daily work activities within their farms. For example, respondents noted that, compared to the other types of workers, farmers are used to complete the works as soon as possible, also in bad weather conditions and after working hours.

This different approach in delivering environmental services by farmers also resulted in a different length and quality of the works, as emphasized by the municipal authorities interviewed who have benefited by the environmental services carried out by the farmers in their municipalities.

Furthermore, the data collected suggest that this approach, especially in the case of the most active farmers in the project, as favoured the building of a new identity of the ‘farmers custodians’.

Indeed, according to the local agency technicians, the recognition of farmers as ‘custodians of the territory’ was interpreted by them such a sort of ‘right’ to make the monitoring and maintenance activities in their assigned area. This institutional recognition led the farmer to express the local needs in terms of flood prevention and landscape management activities and, more broadly, to be an example also for the other local land managers and land owners.

This new identity was built, on one side, through the institutional recognition of their role and, on the other side through a social acknowledgement, which increases the recognition of local communities on the role of local farmers in the management of the territory.

This recognition of the activities of ‘farmers custodians’ was led to an increasing involvement of farmers in the project decision-making, since the building of trust and cooperation amongst the farmers, the technicians and the responsible of the local agency.

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This role and this recognitions in some cases pushed farmers to increase the range of environmental services provided, even though these environmental services that are not included in the agreement with the local agency (and so without remuneration) such as removal of illegal dumps in riverbeds and in adjacent areas.

Finally, in many cases the most pro-active farmers became a point of reference for local people and, above all, represented a reliable information network as well as an efficient early warning system for the public administrations in charge of the environmental management of the district.

Table 5.1 – Farmers’ motivation to participate into the collective action in Media Valle del Serchio

Individual/economic reasons Social/environmental reasons

Payments for monitoring and first intervention works Interesting complement to productive activities Engagements of employees when there is lack of activities in the farms

Integration in periods of scarce activities in the farms (i.e. during the winter and in raining days)

Increasing visibility and networking (opportunities to collaborate with other government agencies)

Enthusiasm and keenness for the environmental services to be provided

Contributing to the environmental management of their territory

Social and institutional recognition of farmers as landscape stewards

Building a new identity of ‘farmers custodians’ Involvement of farmers in decision-making process