TY - GEN A1 - Manhique, Henrique A1 - Wätzold, Frank T1 - Who should control the provider of ecosystem services in buyer-driven governance? : a choice experiment on orchards in Germany T2 - Ecosystem services N2 - Buyer-driven governance arrangements have emerged as a promising innovative approach to mitigate the degradation of ecosystem services (ES) in agricultural landscapes. In such arrangements, ES buyers, such as consumers, support ES provision by remunerating farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural practices through market-based mechanisms, such as price premiums for (certified) sustainably produced products. In this context, effective compliance enforcement is essential, as it assures ES buyers that the services are delivered in accordance with agreed guidelines. Consequently, the level of trust ES buyers place in the organisation responsible for enforcing compliance is critical. We applied a discrete choice experiment to investigate ES buyers’ preferences for the organisation responsible for compliance enforcement for sustainably produced agricultural products. The survey used conventionally managed apple orchards in Germany as a case study and focused on the implementation of ES measures (flower strips, hedgerows, flower strips plus hedgerows, and mechanical weed control instead of chemical control) to support regulating (biological pest control and pollination), cultural (enhancement of landscape aesthetics), and provisioning ES (production of marketable fruits). To elicit preferences regarding compliance enforcement, the survey included four organisations: a state agency, a farmers’ association, a conservation NGO, and a representative body – composed of relevant societal actors collectively responsible for implementing compliance enforcement. The survey included a representative sample of 901 ES buyers (apple consumers) drawn from the German population. We find that most ES buyers trust conservation NGO, representative body, and farmers’ association, while less than half trust state agency; furthermore, ES buyers are willing to pay a substantially higher premium when a trusted organisation is enforcing compliance. Regarding ES measures, we find that ES buyers are willing to pay price premiums for all measures supporting ES provision, with higher premiums for mechanical weed control and the combination flower strips plus hedgerows. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101749 SN - 2212-0416 VL - 74 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Menares-Barraza, Esteban A1 - Markova-Nenova, Nonka A1 - Sturm, Astrid A1 - Wätzold, Frank A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Cost-effective conservation of multiple goals in grasslands : synergies and trade-offs T2 - Biological conservation N2 - Permanent grasslands in Europe are essential for biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services, but are increasingly threatened by land-use intensification. In the past, grassland conservation has mainly focused on “traditional” conservation goals such as species richness and endangered species, but has rarely considered alternative goals that address trophic interactions, ecosystem services, or ecosystem resilience. Using data from the research platform Biodiversity Exploratories, we adapted an existing optimization procedure to optimize single and joint conservation goals for butterfly and plant communities in grasslands in two regions in Germany. For all grassland sites, we assessed the costs associated with each management measure and the ecological state measured by multiple attributes. For each region, we ran three optimizations: one ecological (budget-unconstrained), and two cost-effectiveness optimizations with a low and a medium budget (budget-constrained). We compared selected grassland management measures, their costs, and ecological effects for different goals between optimizations and between different goals within the same optimization. Cost-effectiveness optimization can achieve high levels of conservation goals with low budgets, reaching up to 80% of the maximum achievable in the ecological optimizations while requiring only 30% of the budget. Trade-offs with other goals were inevitable but were minimized by jointly optimizing over multiple goals. Optimization results and trade-offs varied between regions, highlighting the need to design and implement region-specific management measures. Our study shows that promoting multiple conservation goals simultaneously across taxonomic boundaries is an ecologically and economically viable option. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111401 SN - 0006-3207 VL - 311 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Elsevier BV CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Manhique, Henrique A1 - Addison, Pia A1 - Hermanus van Ginkel Bekker, Gerard Francois A1 - Wätzold, Frank T1 - Cost-effective fruit fly (Tephritidae) management measures to facilitate export of South Africa's deciduous fruit : area-wide or field-by-field? T2 - Research square N2 - Fruit flies (Tephritidae) are major pests worldwide, contributing to significant damage of fruit and vegetable crops, as well as causing quarantine issues with export produce. This paper analyses the cost-effectiveness of two approaches to manage economically-significant fruit fly pest of deciduous fruits in South Africa, namely, area-wide (AW) and field-by-field (FF) integrated pest management (IPM), to facilitate South African deciduous fruit exports to the EU market. Cost-effectiveness addresses the following question: which pest management approach is able to achieve the goal of exporting fruits to the EU in terms of pest control at lower costs? We develop a costing framework to compare the costs of the two pest management approaches and apply it to production areas implementing AW-IPM and FF-IPM in the Western Cape province, South Africa. Our results indicate that given the existing situation in South Africa, the costs of AW-IPM are substantially lower than the costs of FF-IPM. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7300626/v1 SN - 2693-5015 SP - 1 EP - 28 PB - Research Square CY - Durham, NC ER - TY - GEN A1 - Manhique, Henrique A1 - Wätzold, Frank T1 - Cost-benefit analysis of implementing flower strips and hedgerows in agricultural landscapes : a case study of conventional and organic apple orchards in eastern Germany T2 - Research square N2 - The simplification of agricultural landscapes has led to losses of biodiversity and the degradation of key ecosystem services, including pollination and natural pest control. Landscape features such as flower strips and hedgerows have been proposed to address these challenges, yet little research has addressed their economic viability. This study employs cost-benefit analysis over a 20-year period in apple orchards under conventional and organic integrated pest management systems in Eastern Germany as a case study to evaluate private and social benefits (including pollination, natural pest control, biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, and avoided human health costs) – and costs (for installation, management, and foregone agricultural land-use) of implementing flower strips and hedgerows. The results show that private net benefits for farmers are mostly negative, indicating limited incentives for adoption. In contrast, social net benefits are consistently positive in all scenarios. We conclude that mechanisms such as agri-environmental schemes and trustworthy labelling schemes are important to promote implementation thus bridging the gap between private and social interests. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7516753/v1 SP - 1 EP - 21 PB - Research Square CY - Durham, NC ER - TY - GEN A1 - Gerling, Charlotte A1 - Drechsler, Martin A1 - Leins, Johannes A. A1 - Sturm, Astrid A1 - Wätzold, Frank T1 - Cost-effective instruments for biodiversity conservation under climate change - the need for flexibility T2 - Ecological economics N2 - Climate change is one of the main threats for biodiversity. As it affects the ecological and economic system, conservation costs and impacts may change in a heterogeneous manner. This implies that cost-effective conservation sites and measures may no longer be so in the future. We investigate spatial flexibility (to adapt the location of conservation sites) and management flexibility (to adapt the conservation measures on those sites) as novel criteria for analysing the cost-effectiveness of policy instruments to conserve biodiversity under climate change. We develop a generic climate-ecological-economic modelling approach that captures the role of spatial and management flexibility to assess the cost-effectiveness of policy instruments. We apply the modelling approach to the conservation of an indicator species in agricultural grasslands in a case study area in Northern Germany, and compare the cost-effectiveness of the policy instruments of land purchase (low spatial flexibility, high management flexibility) and long-term individual conservation contracts (medium spatial and management flexibility) considering a period from 2020 to 2079. We find that both spatial and management flexibility matter in the case study and discuss their broader relevance for conservation in a changing climate. KW - Adaptation KW - Agricultural landscape KW - Ecological-economic modelling KW - Policy instrument evaluation KW - Tool Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108414 SN - 0921-8009 VL - 227 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Elsevier BV CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Gerling, Charlotte A1 - Drechsler, Martin A1 - Kadir, Karmand A1 - Kahlau, Bojan A1 - Leins, Johannes A1 - Sturm, Astrid A1 - Wätzold, Frank T1 - ClimeHop : an interactive app for teaching cost-effective biodiversity conservation under climate change T2 - The journal of economic education Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/00220485.2025.2461066 SN - 2152-4068 VL - 56 IS - 2 SP - 202 EP - 203 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis CY - Abingdon, Oxon ER - TY - GEN A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Wätzold, Frank A1 - Remelgado, Ruben A1 - Addison, Pia A1 - Aigbedion-Atalor, Pascal A1 - Cord, Anna F. A1 - Ekesi, Sunday A1 - Mutamiswa, Reyard A1 - Rwomushana, Ivan T1 - A framework for multidimensional management of invasive alien insect pests in sub-Saharan Africa T2 - Journal of applied entomology N2 - Invasive alien insect pests pose a significant threat to achieving sustainable food systems in sub-Saharan Africa, where reliance on synthetic pesticides has led to unsustainable practices due to high costs and health and environmental risks. This article presents a multidimensional framework for managing invasive alien insect pests in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically directed at researchers, policymakers, non-governmental organisations and other institutions responsible for invasive pest management as well as extension services for farmers. Invasive pests, such as the Oriental fruit fly and the fall armyworm, and a highly damaging native species for comparison are central to the framework. The framework considers the environmental, socio-economic, and regulatory dimensions of pest management decisions. It reviews different control strategies used against invasive alien pests, highlighting their limitations and environmental impacts. By considering farmer characteristics, institutional support, market demands, and regulatory policies, the article emphasises the need for integrated pest management approaches. The aim is to contribute to the development of sustainable, effective pest management strategies that will ensure long-term agricultural productivity and food security in sub-Saharan Africa. KW - Agriculture KW - Biological control KW - Ecosystem health KW - Food security KW - Socio-economy Y1 - 2026 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.70060 SN - 0931-2048 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - GEN A1 - Nusir, Mai A1 - Al-Assaf, Amani A1 - Gerling, Charlotte A1 - Wätzold, Frank T1 - 'It's our water now' : why informal institutions and tribalism matter in the success of water user associations in Jordan Valley T2 - International journal of water resources development N2 - Jordan, among the world’s most water-scarce countries, faces severe irrigation challenges in Jordan Valley (JV), its primary agricultural hub. We examine the successful establishment of Water Users Associations (WUA) in JV, focusing on how unwritten social norms, values, and social networks – known as informal institutions – affected and shaped this process. Employing qualitative methods and a customized institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework, we analyse how historical experiences and tribalism influenced institutional change. We find that integrating tribal values, such as collective responsibility, into the WUA implementation process played a pivotal role in their successful establishment. KW - Common-pool resources KW - Irrigation water management KW - Water User Associations KW - Informal institutions KW - Institutional change KW - IAD framework tribalism KW - Jordan Y1 - 2026 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2026.2643206 SN - 1360-0648 SP - 1 EP - 21 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - London ER -