INFFER framework to assess agri-environmental measures promoting the provision of ecosystems services from farming activities in the Natural Reserve of Lucciola Bella, Tuscany

Agricultural ecosystems provide services essential to human wellbeing as well as to support biodiversity, regulation of soil and water quality and carbon sequestration. At the same time, depending on management practices, agriculture can also be the source of numerous disservices, loss of wildlife habitat being one of the most significant. There is an urgent need for design tools to direct public investment towards effective measures to increase agroecosystem services while reducing negative externalities. This paper reports on the application of an environmental investment framework based on benefit:cost analysis principles (called INFFER) to compare alternative agri-environmental payment schemes in the Natural Reserve of Lucciola Bella, Tuscany. The current agri-environmental payment scheme was compared to an alternative scheme, locally targeted to promote the protection of endangered steppic avifauna habitats in the reserve. Only the alternative scheme was calculated to be a cost-effective project (benefit:cost ratio>1). The analysis showed that to increase the effectiveness of agri-environmental measures in the reserve at the current levels of public investment, payments per unit of land area would need to be increased and concentrated in areas of best habitat for endangered avifauna. Conclusions were able to drawn on the potential use of INFFER for optimal design of Natura 2000 payment schemes within the framework of EU regional rural development plans.