Estimating the Incidental Socio-Economic Impacts of Environmental Stewardship
The aim of this project is to identify, quantify and describe the incidental income, employment and social benefits brought about the Environmental Stewardship (ES) expenditure in England. ES is available on farmed land throughout England and rewards farmers for caring for the wildlife, historic, cultural features on their land and the provision of new public access. Defra and Natural England commissioned CCRI to undertake an assessment of the incidental socio-economic benefits of ES so that they are better informed about its socio-economic impact on the wider local economy and community. In particular, the extent of local multiplier effects and employment creation as an incidental result of agri-environment expenditure, as well as any strengthening of social and human capital that may come about. The project will involve a short literature, a large agreement holder telephone survey (n=288) and a large number of face-to-face interviews with agreement holders, suppliers, contractors and advisers. The data will be analysed at a holding level by six different landscape types, at an option level and also aggregated to provide regional and national estimates. The findings will help Defra and Natural England to understand the contribution of ES to the economy of rural areas.
Those involved in the project from CCRI are: Jane Mills (Project Leader), Paul Courtney, Pete Gaskell, Julie Ingram, Matt Reed, Chris Short, Nick Lewis, Emma Dennis. Also involved are Nigel Boatman from The Food and Environment Research Agency and Bob Ford from Birmingham University.
