Result-oriented approaches to the management of drinking water catchments in agricultural landscapes
Management of water quality in drinking water catchments is of ongoing, high importance as nitrate concentrations are often still very high. We analysed the Augsburg catchment in Germany, a unique example where a result-oriented approach has been implemented. We investigated the historical
evolution of the water protection programme, the result-oriented payment contracts with farmers, and farmer satisfaction with the contracts, based on interviews with the water utility and farmers as well as an analysis of the literature. Today, the water protection programme has been successfully
implemented, and a significant reduction of nitrate concentration was achieved due to the following factors: (1) investment of non-negligible amounts of money for high compensation and remuneration payments, (2) different contract options, (3) farmers’ participation in the negotiation
process for result-oriented payment contracts, (4) involvement of “outside” people and institutions in negotiation processes, (5) anticipation of starting a programme when nitrate levels were still far below legislative thresholds, and (6) a political and legislative framework
allowing direct decisions by a water supplier.
Keywords: farmers’ acceptance; municipal water supplier; outcome-oriented; payment by results; water protection programme
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Department of Agroecology and Environment, ISARA Lyon (member of the University of Lyon), Lyon, France 2: Department of Agricultural Economics, Technische Universität München-Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany 3: UMR SADAPT Team Urban Agriculture, AgroParisTech, Paris, France 4: UR 055 INRA SAD ASTER, Mirecourt, France
Publication date: 01 February 2016
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