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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Sophie Tindale, Professor Lynn FrewerORCiD
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This article focuses on the effectiveness of the Swiss policy mix promoting sustainable permanent grassland (PG) management in the country. We use the Cascade Framework and stakeholder’s sentiment analysis to qualitatively assess propagation pathways to generate policy effectiveness in terms of PGs’ delivery of ecosystem services (ES), ultimately enabling sustainable PG management. We employ a mixed method approach combining a review of governmental documents, formal policies and policy evaluations with semi‐structured interviews with Swiss stakeholders. Through this analysis, we find 16 policy instruments influencing PG management, of which 3 are regulatory instruments, 11 are incentive instruments, and 2 are informational instruments. Results show that these instruments primarily aim to promote sustainable PG management by implementing measures that focus on the fundamental make-up and structure of the landscape. As such, we find gaps in the types of instruments employed, particularly in terms of demand‐side policies, which can explain poor policy outcomes in a number of environmental quality objectives. In parallel, we find that most of the interviewed stakeholders consider Swiss grassland policy as generally effective, mainly because it is perceived as democratic. While the study focused on Switzerland, its novel conceptual and methodological approach of using the cascade-framework for policy analysis can be applied to other biogeographical regions and socio‐economic contexts. Our findings can improve the calibration of future policy instruments to enable land managers and grassland landscape users to restore or maintain PGs in good ecological condition, by targeting mechanisms that can ensure achieving environmental quality objectives while remaining democratically legitimate.
Author(s): Quatrini S, Hunter E, Tindale S, Newell -Price P, Frewer LJ, Lieberherr E
Publication type: Article
Publication status: In Press
Journal: Agronomy
Year: 2024
Acceptance date: 07/10/2024
ISSN (electronic): 2073-4395
Publisher: MDPI AG
Notes: Gold access
