Craig Bullock

Rural change and individual well-being the case of Ireland and rural quality of life

Much of rural Europe has witnessed vast changes over the past two decades, including major demographic and economic change. The question of how these changes have affected individual well-being and quality of life remains largely unanswered. This paper aims to shed light on this topic by employing both qualitative and quantitative research methods in the analysis of rural quality of life in Ireland, including focus groups, locally-specific surveys and two representative surveys of individuals carried out in 2001 and 2007. We use the respondents’ self-reported life satisfaction level as a proxy for their well-being to examine the determinants of quality of life and also examine how attitudes have changed over this period. Results show a consistently high life satisfaction in rural Ireland. The greatest changes are witnessed in attitudes to the provision of facilities and services. Respondents’ perceptions of the benefits and limitations of rural living remain constant between the two periods, focusing on quality of life and environmental issues. However, the main problems of rural living have shifted away from the cost of housing to access to healthcare and public transport. Issues that are found to be important at the local scale include economic indicators (for example, security of income, home ownership), dwelling characteristics, social factors (for example, belonging to the community) and environmental amenities (for example, access to green space, good-quality environment). The importance of these issues is born out by the analysis at the national scale. The paper concludes by exploring the policy implications of these findings.

Preservation and Change in the Upland Landscape: The Public Benefits of Grazing Management

A contingent valuation survey was undertaken to estimate the public benefits of landscapechanges that could arise from reductions in grazing levels using the example of the Central Southern Uplands of Scotland. A dichotomous choice with continuous follow-up format was used to quantify the environmentalbenefit in terms of the willingness to pay of the general public and visitors. The paper discusses the merits of this format and the evidence of starting-point bias. In addition, the results are compared with the preferences of locals and interest groups as expressed through focus group sessions and subsets of the survey. A strong preference for more tree cover was evident, a landscape feature not well represented in the current landscape.

Valuing Urban Green Space: Hypothetical Alternatives and the Status Quo

Abstract Although many cities have guidelines on the quantity of green open space that should accompany residential development, there is less guidance on the type or facilities of these spaces. The study uses an approach to determine whether green space can be valued on the basis of its constituent characteristics and, if so, what characteristics are preferred. The results indicate that preferences vary depending on whether the green space in question is a small local park or a larger municipal park. However, where a base alternative of usual park destination is included in the analysis, the results are affected by collinearity and the actual availability of relevant green space attributes in these destinations. A mixed logit approach is used to tease out this effect from the underlying preference values.

New perspectives on agroforestry in lowland Britain

Abstract Agroforestry has not been adopted in the UK despite the potential it has to diversify output while reducing the opportunity cost of lost agricultural production. In part this reflects the limited nature of the grant aid available. This article demonstrates that the current pro rata restriction that grant aid is paid in proportion to the number of stems planted means that annual incomes derived from silvoarable or silvopastoral systems compare poorly with those from agricultural enterprises alone. By facilitating a greater variety In the spatial arrangement of trees, agroforestry systems offer a potential diversity of landscape forms and wildlife habitats that are not available from conventional plantation forestry. The article argues that this contribution to environmental diversity should be reflected In the level of grant aid provided for agroforestry. Silvopastoral systems based on sheep are shown to offer the greatest potential, and proposals are made for encouraging the development of such systems.

Valuing environmental damage remediation and liability using value estimates for ecosystem services

The European Environmental Liability Directive aims to ensure that damaged habitats are restored where possible, but allows for complementary remediation with replacement habitat where restoration is not possible within a reasonable time. It also allows for compensatory remediation of the resource based on an assessment of environmental values in cases where there are interim social losses. This paper concurs with the argument that physical remediation without consideration of social values can fail to be equivalent to the resource that has been lost. Using, as a case study, a river in Ireland, it demonstrates that estimating social value can be challenging in practice, noting also differences between the value of environmental gains and losses. The paper argues that estimates of final ecosystem service values, including wastewater treatment costs, can provide a measure of social value and makes a case for the systematic collection of these data to inform decision-making.

Are Forest Attitudes Shaped by the Extent and Characteristics of Forests in the Local Landscape

Forest policy is increasingly accounting for public attitudes and preferences. However, attitudes vary across the population and are linked to the characteristics of individuals and their relationship to forests. This study examines whether the extent, ownership, and composition of forests in respondents’ localities influence their expressed attitudes and rankings of forest outputs from a household survey. Forest cover in a 5-km buffer surrounding respondents was identified using a geographic information system (GIS) and the effects of forest cover and other key respondent variables were tested using ordered logit models. The results suggest that forest cover does influence attitudes and that the nature of the effects differs based on composition and ownership. A division in attitudes was also identified between members of farming households and urban areas. In addition to describing the potential formation of attitudes, the results highlight the trade-off between commercial and noncommercial management that may be required to improve attitudes toward forestry.

Realising the ecosystem-service value of native woodland in Ireland

BackgroundIn common with many other countries, native forest in the Ireland is under pressure from a variety of sources. Although the area of forest has increased to 10.5% of the land area of Ireland, this is comprised mainly of exotic conifer species (6.8%). Native species woodland represents only 100,000 hectares (1.4%) of the land area. In addition, much of this area is fragmented and comprised of a narrow range of species. Just 20,000 hectares is represented by woodland resembling the ancient woodland that once covered much of Ireland.MethodsThis paper examines the natural capital value of the existing area of woodland as represented by the value of the ecosystem services it provides.ResultsThe results demonstrate a significant economic value in excess of €67 million per year. We discuss the consequences of the erosion of this value that could result from continued mismanagement of native woodland. The results show that current government policy is failing to realise the economic value of native woodland and is deficient in terms of the continuity of support.ConclusionsThe paper demonstrates the very significant values that could be supplied by a gradual expansion of woodland area up to 100% of the current forested area, especially if this expansion is targeted at areas with the highest potential for amenity and water resource protection.