Evaluating Agri-environmental Policies [electronic resource]: Design, Practice and Results /
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Paris : OECD Publishing,
2005.
These conference proceedings present a series of evaluations of agri-environmental policies in OECD countries.  They examine how effective the policies have been in achieving objectives and what policy makers have learned about the design and implementation of their policies.  These proceedings show that different methods of policy evaluation are complementary. Most countries focus on evaluating the environmental effectiveness rather than the economic efficiency of policies, using physical indicators rather than monetary values. Many policies are achieving their environmental objectives, but are taking longer than originally anticipated. The initiative being taken in many countries to incorporate monitoring and data collection into programme design and implementation is a positive development.  But a number of steps need to be taken to improve the quality of evaluations, including the better articulation of policy goals and objectives, improving data quality and establishing baselines for comparison.
Papers from an OECD Workshop held 6-8 December 2004 in Paris.
Includes bibliographical references.
The Canadian Shelterbelt Program -- Evaluation of the New Zealand Sustainable Farming Fund -- Evaluating Community-based Programmes in Australia -- Has Conservation Compliance Reduced Soil Erosion on US Cropland? -- Key Issues -- Key Issues -- Summary -- The Regulation of Nutrient Losses in Denmark to Control Aquatic Pollution from Agriculture -- Evaluating Agri-environmental Policies in the OECD -- Key Issues -- The Use of Green Taxes in Denmark for the Control of the Aquatic Environment -- Taxes as a Tool to Reduce Health and Environmental Risk from Pesticide Use in Norway -- Key Issues -- Evaluation of Agri-environmental Measures in Switzerland -- Assessing Long-term Impacts of Agri-environmental Measures in Germany -- Sweden's Experience with Evaluating Agri-environmental Payments -- Alternative Approaches for Evaluating the Performance of Buffer Strip Policy in Finland -- Evaluating Agri-environmental Schemes in England -- The Evaluation of Agri-environmental Measures -- Key Issues -- Building Accountability Structures into Agri-environmental Policy Development -- Key Issues -- What Constitutes a Good Agri-environmental Policy Evaluation? -- Evaluation of the Dutch Manure and Fertiliser Policy 1998-2002 -- Evaluation of Agri-environmental Measures in Flanders, Belgium -- Evaluation of Agri-environmental Policies in Japan -- Evaluation of Agri-environmental Policies Implemented in France from 2000 to 2002 under the CTE Farm Contract Scheme -- Key Issues.
These conference proceedings present a series of evaluations of agri-environmental policies in OECD countries.  They examine how effective the policies have been in achieving objectives and what policy makers have learned about the design and implementation of their policies.  These proceedings show that different methods of policy evaluation are complementary. Most countries focus on evaluating the environmental effectiveness rather than the economic efficiency of policies, using physical indicators rather than monetary values. Many policies are achieving their environmental objectives, but are taking longer than originally anticipated. The initiative being taken in many countries to incorporate monitoring and data collection into programme design and implementation is a positive development.  But a number of steps need to be taken to improve the quality of evaluations, including the better articulation of policy goals and objectives, improving data quality and establishing baselines for comparison.
Agriculture
Environmental policy
Agriculture and state