Les ecosystemes agricoles sont l'un des six volets de l'Evaluation francaise des ecosystemes et des services ecosystemiques (EFESE), programme lance en 2012 par le Ministere en charge de l'Environnement pour apporter des connaissances sur l'etat actuel et l'utilisation durable des ecosystemes (voir encadre 2). En 2014, le Ministere de l'Environnement a sollicite l'Inra pour prendre en charge le volet relatif aux ecosystemes agricoles. Le programme federateur de recherche EcoSerV (Services rendus par les ecosystemes), lance par l'Inra en 2013, a egalement soutenu cette etude qu'il va ensuite completer et etendre. L'ecosysteme agricole, vu comme l'ensemble des parcelles dediees a la production de biomasse agricole, est configure et gere par l'agriculteur qui combine, dans ses pratiques de production, processus ecologiques et apports d'intrants exogenes. L'un des enjeux forts associes a l'analyse des services ecosystemiques est la conception de systemes de production reposant sur la valorisation de ces services, donc peu consommateurs en intrants exogenes et repondant aux enjeux de societe tels que la conservation de la biodiversite ou la limitation des impacts environnementaux.

Conservation of the seven lagoons of the Palavas complex (southern France) has been severely impaired by nutrient over-enrichment during at least four decades. The effluents of the Montpellier wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) represented the main nutrient input. To improve the water quality of these lagoons, this WWTP was renovated and upgraded and, since the end of 2005, its effluents have been discharged 11km offshore into the Mediterranean (total investment Euro150M).Possibilities of ecosystem restoration as part of a conservation programme were explored by a focus group of experts. Their tasks were: (i) to evaluate the impact of the reduction of the nutrient input; (ii) if necessary, to design additional measures for an active restoration programme; and (iii) to predict ecosystem trajectories for the different cases. Extension of Magnoliophyta meadows can be taken as a proxy for ecosystem restoration as they favour the increase of several fish (seahorse) and bird (ducks, swans, herons) species, albeit they represent a trade-off for greater flamingos. Additional measures for active ecosystem restoration were only recommended for the most impaired lagoon Mejean, while the least impaired lagoon Ingril is already on a trajectory of spontaneous recovery.A multiple contingent valuation considering four different management options for the Mejean lagoon was used in a pilot study based on face-to-face interviews with 159 respondents. Three levels of ecosystem restoration were expressed in terms of recovery of Magnoliophyta meadows, including their impact on emblematic fish and avifauna. These were combined with different options for access (status quo, increasing access, increasing access with measures to reduce disturbance). The results show a willingness of local populations to pay per year about Euro25 for the highest level of ecological restoration, while they were only willing to allocate about Euro5 for additional footpaths and hides. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The seven lagoons of the Palavas complex (S. France) were exposed to nutrient overenrichment during at least four decades mainly from the effluents of the WWTP of Montpellier. In many lagoons, this resulted in regime shifts from rooted Magnoliophyta communities into systems dominated by dense phytoplankton or macroalgal blooms. In order to improve the water quality of the lagoons this WWTP was renovated and upgraded and, since the end of 2005, its effluents are discharged 12 km offshore into the Mediterranean through a blast pipe (total investment 150 M). We studied the possibilities for these lagoons to achieve a desired state comprising more oligotrophic conditions and a dense submerged aquatic vegetation of marine Magnoliophyta, which are the targets set by the E.U. Water Framework Directive. While, the phytoplankton communities respond quickly to the reduction of the nutrient loading, the sediments have accumulated large amounts of N and P, which delays the recovery of the desired state and probably represent a major reason for hysteresis in back-shifting the regimes. In our combined ecological-economic study we composed a focus group of experts (i) to predict ecosystem trajectories for the current management (passive restoration) and (ii) to design additional measures applied in a two-step approach for accelerating the process (active restoration). There was a high degree of consensus among the experts, although controversies appeared with respect to (i) the feasibility of actively seeding and/or planting Magnoliophyta in the eutrophic lagoons, (ii) the use of terminology and use of species as indicators, i.e. ‘emblematic’, ‘symbolic’ or ‘patrimonial species’, (iii) using an existing reference state for defining the desired state. For the least impacted lagoon Ingril, the passive restoration will yield good result within a reasonable time frame. For the most impacted lagoon Méjean, we studied social preference and the willingness to pay, by local populations and tourists, for the extra costs related with the active restoration. We used a multiple contingent valuation (MCV) considering 4 different management options. ∗Speaker †Corresponding author: juliette.blvn@gmail.com sciencesconf.org:resilience2014:25299 Three levels of recovery of seagrass meadows were combined with different options for access (status quo, increasing access, increasing access with measures to reduce disturbance). Hence, we also studied whether the return to reference conditions implying a restoration of the Magnoliophyte meadows is a socially accepted desired state as these meadows represent a trade-off for the symbolic flamingos, while other bird species (ducks, swans, herons), emblematic seahorses and other fishes increase concomitantly with these meadows. The results of the multiple contingent valuation give support to the restoration project, but the uncertainty in the cost of restoration of Magnoliophyta meadows could highly impacts the final decision of public authorities.

There is increasing consensus that resistance to the siting of wind power facilities cannot be explained by the NIMBY phenomenon alone or other localized environmental impacts. This deficiency is addressed by examining the determinants of tourist preferences for positioning of wind farms in the Mediterranean Sea. A principal component analysis is used to identify general attitudinal themes that act as covariates in a choice model. We demonstrate that the welfare economic impacts associated with spending holidays in the vicinity of an offshore wind farm do not merely depend on visibility effects, but equally on the individual's opinion of climate change, efficiency of wind energy and the substitutability of nuclear and fossil fuels with renewable power generating sources.

This article examines farmers' preferences for both cropping and management practices, which are of policy interest because of their environmental impact. We present the results of a choice experiment survey of all agricultural decision makers in the Camargue region. A latent class model identified three classes. The main class encompasses farmers complying with the norms of the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI): Riz de Camargue . We estimated the monetary value of each of the relevant agricultural practices. Our results make a strong case for differentiating incentives to encourage environmentally friendly practices and identify the diversity of values attached to the main components of rice cropping technology in the area. Estimates of the implicit prices indicate that most rice growers can be persuaded to adopt environmentally friendly practices. These findings could help in designing targeted contracts according to farmers' preferences, in line with conservation or environmental objectives.

This article explores the economic conditions for the viability of organic farming in a context of imperfect competition. While most research dealing with this issue has adopted an empirical approach, we propose a theoretical foundation. Farmers have a choice between two technologies, the conventional one using two complementary inputs, chemicals and seeds, and the organic one only requiring organic seeds. The upstream markets are oligopolistic and the firms adopt Cournot behavior. The game is solved backward. The equilibrium repartition of the farmers between both sectors is obtained by a free entry condition. Since multiple equilibria could exist, including the non emergence of organic farming, we spell out viability conditions for organic farming. Then, using an infant industry argument, we propose several public policy instruments able to support the development of organic farming, and assess their relative efficiency. Results could be useful to assess the conditions of emergence and viability of agricultural innovations in analogous contexts.

This article examines farmers' preferences for both cropping and management practices, which are of policy interest because of their environmental impact. We present the results of a choice experiment survey of all agricultural decision makers in the Camargue region. A latent class model identified three classes. The main class encompasses farmers complying with the norms of the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI): Riz de Camargue . We estimated the monetary value of each of the relevant agricultural practices. Our results make a strong case for differentiating incentives to encourage environmentally friendly practices and identify the diversity of values attached to the main components of rice cropping technology in the area. Estimates of the implicit prices indicate that most rice growers can be persuaded to adopt environmentally friendly practices. These findings could help in designing targeted contracts according to farmers' preferences, in line with conservation or environmental objectives.

As the French government strives to achieve their offshore renewable energy target, the impact of offshore wind farms on coastal tourism in the Languedoc Rousillon is now being questioned. To assess this issue, a choice experiment was undertaken to elicit tourist preferences for wind turbines at different distances from the shore. We also examined whether potential visual nuisances may be compensated by wind farm associated reef-recreation or by adopting a coherent environmental policy. The findings indicate that age, nationality, vacation activities and their destination loyalty influence attitudes towards compensatory policies. Two policy recommendations are suggested. First, everything else being equal, wind farms should be located no closer than 12 km from the shore. Second, and alternatively, a wind farm can be located from 5 km and outwards without a loss in tourism revenues if accompanied by a coherent environmental policy and wind farm associated recreational activities. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The aims of our paper are to identify economic determinants of the on-farm cultivar selection and to empirically characterise farmers’ diversification strategies. We focus on the private decision making process involving the choice of rice cultivars and the corresponding allocation of farmland. Our results rely on original data collected during the spring of 2009 involving a sample of 86 economic units growing rice. We studied the determinants of the number of cultivars grown on farm and then factors explaining the portfolio choice in terms of commercial rice grain with a multinomial logit model, with three alternatives: a) to be specialised into a particular type of rice grain (long or round); b) to grow simultaneously these two types; c) to be diversified with niche market varieties. Our results confirm the importance of the interactions between markets related benefit and the management constraints on land and labour.

This article explores the economic conditions for the viability of organic farming in a context of imperfect competition. While most research dealing with this issue has adopted an empirical approach, we propose a theoretical foundation. Farmers have a choice between two technologies, the conventional one using two complementary inputs, chemicals and seeds, and the organic one only requiring organic seeds. The upstream markets are oligopolistic and the firms adopt Cournot behavior. The game is solved backward. The equilibrium repartition of the farmers between both sectors is obtained by a free entry condition. Since multiple equilibria could exist, including the non emergence of organic farming, we spell out viability conditions for organic farming. Then, using an infant industry argument, we propose several public policy instruments able to support the development of organic farming, and assess their relative efficiency. Results could be useful to assess the conditions of emergence and viability of agricultural innovations in analogous contexts.

Cet article aborde la question des déterminants du choix des variétés utilisées dans la riziculture camarguaise, dans laquelle l’offre de semences est dominée par les variétés italiennes. Les données utilisées proviennent de deux enquêtes menées auprès d’un échantillon de riziculteurs (90 % de la population totale pour la première et 70 % pour la seconde). Les résultats montrent que les choix de variétés ne dépendent pas moins des caractéristiques structurelles des exploitations que d’une relation particulière, proche d’un contrat lié de livraison, entre les agriculteurs et leurs fournisseurs de semences.