Acceptance of a Payment for Ecosystem Services Scheme: The Decisive Influence of Collective Action. (1st April 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Del Corso, Jean-Pierre; Nguyen, Thi Dieu Phuong Geneviève; Kephaliacos, Charilaos
• Is Part Of: Environmental values. Volume 26:Number 2(2017:Apr.)
• Page Start: 177
• Page End: 202
• Publication Date: 2017-04-01
• Subjects: Payment for ecosystem services -- EU Water Framework Directive -- collective action -- legitimacy -- discourse analysis; Environmental ethics -- Periodicals; Environmental policy -- Periodicals; 179.105
• DOI: 10.3197/096327117X14847335385517
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0963-2719

Abstract

Abstract : As scholars have shown, acceptance is key to the success of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) scheme. While many studies adopt a static cost-benefit perspective, few address the social process leading to acceptance. Drawing on Suchman (1995), this article examines the legitimacy process underlying the acceptance of a PES in agriculture. In particular, the role of collective action in the legitimisation process is analysed, using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods of discourse analysis. Data from an agro-environmental PES scheme in France on water quality shows that acceptance depends on the normative and cognitive legitimacy that actors confer upon a public policy.