Challenges and Opportunities for Land Use Transformation: Insights from the Central Plains Water Scheme in New Zealand

Alan Renwick, Robyn Dynes, Paul Johnstone, Warren King, Lania Holt and Jemma Penelope
Additional contact information
Robyn Dynes: Farm Systems and Environment, AgResearch, Lincoln 7674, New Zealand
Paul Johnstone: Field Crops Sustainable Production, Plant and Food Research, Havelock North 4157, New Zealand
Warren King: Farm Systems and Environment, AgResearch, Hamilton 3214, New Zealand
Lania Holt: Integrated Forest Systems Management, Scion Research, Rotorua 3046, New Zealand
Jemma Penelope: Global Value Chains and Trade, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 18, 1-18

Abstract: Agricultural systems in New Zealand, as elsewhere in the world, are subject to increasing environmental (and associated social) pressures, for example, around water quality and greenhouse gas emissions. Whilst novel, knowledge-based, alternative land use systems, exist that could relieve these pressures, the challenge facing New Zealand is how to achieve a timely transition to these systems at any meaningful scale. This paper considers the factors that are important to land managers in determining whether or not to change their land use system when the development of an irrigation scheme provides an opportunity for transformative change. A multicriteria decision-making framework using the analytical hierarchy process is used to assess the factors influencing decision makers who are shareholders in the Central Plains Water Scheme in the South Island of New Zealand. As expected, financial factors generally were weighted above other factors in terms of importance. Social, environmental and market factors were rated similarly, whilst regulatory and knowledge factors appeared generally less important. In addition to profitability, the study identified the desire of land managers to simplify complex agricultural systems, their need for scale, their concerns over knowledge competition, their willingness to collaborate and the challenge brought about by ‘cultural path dependency’ as being important. This suggests that if novel systems can be developed that better meet these needs and concerns as well as addressing the wider environmental and social challenges, then there may be a greater chance of engendering a land use transition.

Keywords: land use change; multi-criteria decision making; irrigation schemes; farmer decision making (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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