NERI Technical Report no. 502

 

Summary

 

This report analyses the welfare economic consequences of protecting nature areas vulnerable to ammonia eutrophication by appointing so called bufferzones around them. Three scenarios involving bufferzones of 250 m are analysed. The first involves bufferzones around all nature areas under the EU Habitat Directive (Natura 2000 areas). The second comprises all nature areas included in the recommendations by the Wilhjelm committee (WU scenario), and the third involve an extension of the second scenario (WU+ scenario). The scenarios affect 4, 7 and 15 percent of the total agricultural area and 13, 23 and 55 percent of all farms, respectively. In the scenarios it is assumed that all farms with stables located within the bufferzones implement acidification-treatment of manure, where as manure applied on areas within the bufferzones are injected into the soil.

 

The main results are as follows:

• Aggregated welfare economic costs are 15, 30 and 105 mill. DKK per year. The costs are dependent on the time horizon for implementation and the concrete actions within the bufferzones.

• Measured per hectare of bufferzone the yearly cost amounts to 150 DKK per hectare (Natura 2000 and WU scenarios) and 300 DKK per hectare (WU+ scenario). The differences between the two first and the third scenario relate to the fact, that relatively larger portion of stables are located within the bufferzones in the WU+ scenario.

• Effects on ammonia emissions amount to 10, 10 and 20 percent of total emissions on the farms affected by bufferzones. Whether these reductions represent a permanent reduction in national emissions or rather a redistribution depend on the actual policy chosen to implement the measures.

• If the scenarios lead to a stop for husbandry production in the smaller farms due to the investment costs of implementing acidification-treatment of manure, the effects on employment are estimated to 500, 1,200 and 4,600 numbers of fully employed. If a subsidy is provided to cover the investment costs, the employment effects are reduced.

• If the scenarios are limited to affect only future expansions in animal production, the yearly costs are estimated at 50 DKK per hectare of farmland.

 

Full report (1,411 Kb)