Citizens' preferences for the conservation of agricultural genetic resources

Abstract

Evaluation of conservation policies for agricultural genetic resources (AgGR) requires information on the use and non-use values of plant varieties and animal breeds, as well as on the preferences for in situ and ex situ conservation. We conducted a choice experiment to estimate citizens' willingness to pay (WTP) for AgGR conservation programmes in Finland, and used a latent class model to identify heterogeneity in preferences among respondent groups. The findings indicate that citizens have a high interest in the conservation of native breeds and varieties, but also reveal the presence of preference heterogeneity. Five respondent groups could be identified based on latent class modeling: one implying lexicographic preferences, two with reasoned choices, one indicating uncertain support and one with a preference for the current status of conservation. The results emphasize the importance of in situ conservation of native cattle breeds and plant varieties in developing conservation policies.

Livestock biodiversity as interface between people, landscapes and nature

“…Using this dualistic perspective, Gandini and Villa () assigned relative degrees of cultural significance to Italian cattle breeds by tabulating (a) the degree to which each acts as a historical witness (through featuring in such media as visual arts and literature) and (b) their prominences as custodians of local tradition (principally in relation to local food and handicraft practices). Indeed, the aspect of livestock biodiversity that has been most extensively used in geographical studies of culture, certainly in Europe, has been the notion of custodianship of local food tradition (Pouta, Tienhaara, & Ahtiainen, ; Zander, Signorello, Salvo, Gandini, & Drucker, ). Tieskens et al () used ‘Protected designation of origin’ (PDO) databases in mapping cultural landscapes.…”

Information Use and Its Effects on the Valuation of Agricultural Genetic Resources

“…Nowadays, applications are common for both goods that people are familiar with and have some experience of, such as water quality (e.g. Hanley et al 2006;Ahtiainen et al 2015), and goods that people may be unfamiliar with or have no practical experience of, such as specific rare species or biotopes (e.g., Christie and Gibbons 2011;Jobstvogt et al 2014) or agricultural genetic resources (AgGR) (Pouta et al 2014). Regardless of the good, the underlying assumption is that respondents make informed choices (e.g., Blomquist and Whitehead 1998).…”

“…Although the public is likely to be aware of agricultural production and its impacts on the environment, specific aspects, such as the conservation of genetic resources, are likely to be unfamiliar to at least some of the respondents. This setting provides an excellent prospect for examining the influence of information on preferences for unfamiliar environmental goods in a CE (Pouta et al 2014).…”

Local Breeds – Rural Heritage or New Market Opportunities? Colliding Views on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Landraces

“…These reasons include social and cultural values that the breeds represent, as well as their contribution to biodiversity (Evans and Yarwood ; Yarwood and Evans ; Karja and Lilja ; Ovaska and Soini ; López Moreno ; Martin‐Collado et al ). Conservation of local breeds is widely accepted among the general public, but preferences, as to means of conservation, vary strongly (Pouta et al ; Tienhaara et al ). The sustainable use of local breeds, in specialty products and other forms of rural entrepreneurship, is not a new phenomenon, and it has developed strongly during the 2000s (e.g., Garrod et al ; Jackson et al ).…”