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Abstract
There is a lack of knowledge about the effectiveness and efficiency of soil conservation
policies in agriculture and little understanding of how policy measures should be
designed to encourage farmers to adopt soil conservation practices. This paper analyzes
institutional settings surrounding agricultural soil management in ten European countries
based on the Institutions of Sustainability framework. This framework considers the
interdependencies between ecological and social systems, taking into account
environmental conditions, farming practices impacting on soil conservation, different
types of actors, policies, institutions and governance structures. The purpose of this paper
is to describe the analytical framework and the methodology that all case studies are
based on, present and discuss compared findings, outline implications for successful soil
conservation policy, and draw conclusions on the methodological approach. The case
studies focused on the main soil degradation types occurring across Europe which are
addressed by a broad range of mandatory and incentive policies. The findings highlight
the following issues: i) the need to design policies that target the locally most common
soil threats and processes in the light of agricultural management; ii) the need to take
farming management constraints into consideration, (iii) the need for good
communication and cooperation both between agricultural and environmental authorities
as well as between governmental and non-governmental stakeholders; iv) the necessary
mix of mandatory and incentive instruments; and v) the need for data and monitoring
systems allowing the evaluation of the effectiveness of policies and soil conservation
practices.