SAMFUN:Biodiversity and Nature Index: Understanding, adaptive planning, and economic policy means for management of open lowlands and forest

Revised summary: The purpose of the project BIOPOLICY - Biodiversity and Nature Index: Understanding, adaptive planning and economic policy means for management of open lowland and forest has been to identify appropriate policy means for biodiversity protection in an interdisciplinary context where a common basis for understanding challenges to biodiversity has been developed through cooperation between natural and social scientists. The project has suggested a specific application for policy analysis of the Nature Index in Norway, a framework for quantifying biodiversity. The project has focused on forest and open lowland (the semi-natural cultural landscape) since the Nature Index emphasized the need for policy and management measures to maintain biodiversity in these two ecosystems. BIOPOLICY has been carried out in close cooperation between Statistics Norway and project partners, in particular Centre for Applied Research (SNF), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Center for International and Environmental Research - Oslo (CICERO) and Kulturlandskapskonsulent Ann Norderhaug. For the research on forest a model for carbon sequestration has been applied. The analysis has been based on realistic assumptions of forestry in boreal forests, taking into account the effect of albedo, and argues that increased emphasis on bioenergy may be less beneficial for the climate than often assumed. Giving priority to maintain old forests, in order to enhance carbon sequestration, is in synergy with maintaining the biodiversity values characteristic for old forests. With regard to the open lowland, the biodiversity of this nature type is threatened by abandonment of traditional agricultural activities, such as outfield grazing, followed by forest re-growth and loss of the characteristic biodiversity of the open lowland. The economic model JORDMOD for agricultural production has been extended to include outfield grazing activities that contribute to sustain the open lowland. The central question is to what extent a reallocation of Norwegian agricultural subsidies would be possible and what would be its impacts in terms of increased cost, but with a potential to maintain the biodiversity of the semi-natural grassland. In the model analysis, outfield grazing is increased by assuming that the grazing season is better utilized, i.e. that the number of grazing animals and grazing days are higher. This assumption will have to be adjusted according to regional variations. The model analysis shows that the first 15 per cent increase in outfield land use for grazing requires a NOK 390 million raise in subsidies. This is a moderate increase in costs compared to total agricultural subsidies. The project has compiled data from many different sources, e.g., from the complete agricultural censuses carried out by Statistics Norway in 1907 and 1949, and by interview with farmers and local agricultural management. The project has addressed potential effects on biodiversity in general terms, assuming levels and intensities of grazing that may be beneficial for sustaining biodiversity in different regions. The original aim of the project was to address how issues relating to biodiversity can be expressed in terms of different scientific and societal perspectives (so-called narratives) that illustrate how different interest groups, conflicting sector interests, lay people and politicians understand and express their understandings of biodiversity, threats to biodiversity, and policies for biodiversity protection. In practice the ambitions of the project in this area have been reduced, in order to give priority to the demanding tasks of developing the methodological and empirical basis for model analysis. Yet the policy and communication aspects have been integrated into the project, with presentation of the forest analysis to policy makers and meetings with agricultural organizations to discuss the analysis of increased outfield grazing. The analysis developed in the project might contribute to illustrate possible trade-offs for a more comprehensive 'biopolicy' for maintaining the characteristic biodiversity of forests and semi-natural agricultural landscapes. The results of the project will contribute to enhance the basis for adaptive planning by economic policy means, where adaptive planning is understood as iterative implementation of policy means towards reaching a given policy objective for biodiversity. The results will be communicated to national users, in particular the Norwegian Farmers' Union, the Norwegian Farmers and Smallholders Union, the Norwegian Agriculture Agency, the Norwegian Environment Agency and environmental organizations. The project has contributed to a knowledge basis that will be useful in current and future research projects on maintaining the biodiversity of the semi-natural landscape and the ecosystem services that contribute to reduced climate impact and enhanced food security.

The purpose of the project is to identify appropriate policy means for biodiversity protection in an interdisciplinary context where a common basis for understanding of challenges to biodiversity will be developed through cooperation between natural scien tists and social scientists. The project suggests a specific application for policy analysis of the Nature Index (NI) in Norway, a recently developed framework for quantifying biodiversity. In particular, the project addresses how the various elements of biodiversity can be expressed in terms of different disciplinary and societal perspectives (so-called narratives) that illustrate how different parts of society, different interest groups, conflicting sector interests, lay people and politicians understa nd and express their understandings of biodiversity, threats to biodiversity, and the policies for biodiversity protection. A major challenge will be to express biodiversity targets for the two major ecosystems open lowlands and forests in terms of the in dicators from the Nature Index. This must be done in a way that can be translated into environmental management strategies. These strategies will then be described in economic terms. Two economic models will be developed for evaluation of ecosystem servi ces. For open lowland an economic model of production methods will be extended to cover activities that re-establish and sustain open lowland. For forest a model for carbon sequestration will be developed and expressed in terms of an economic evaluation. The project will contribute to enhance the basis for adaptive planning by economic policy means, where adaptive planning is understood as iterative implementation of policy means towards reaching a given policy objective for biodiversity. The results will be communicated to important national users as the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance.