Abstract ID: 3.10213 | Accepted as Talk | Requested as: Talk | TBA | TBA

Due to their traditional management by farmers and their unique flora and fauna, alpine pastures and mountain meadows can be considered as highly valuable cultural and natural assets for the region and the people who live there and visit it. The aim of this analysis is to gain a better understanding of societal preferences in order to identify strategies for the future management of alpine pastures and mountain meadows in the Eisenwurzen region that increase the socio-ecological resilience of alpine farming. We combine different methods of participatory research to identify critical attributes and elicit societal preferences with a discrete choice experiment (DCE). A Latent Class Choice Model (LCCM) allows us to capture the heterogeneity of respondents’ preferences. Six critical attributes were identified, namely tourist amenities and scenery, local food production, knowledge transfer of traditional management practices, and biodiversity in terms of plant and insect species richness. The DCE was conducted through an online survey, which was completed by 360 respondents from Eisenwurzen and surrounding areas. The LCCM identified three classes of respondents with different preferences. One class, representing about 40% of the respondents, has very high preferences for all attributes. These respondents tend to be older, more male and from the Eisenwurzen region. However, there is also a class (~50% of respondents) that shows more differentiated preferences for individual attributes and consists more of younger female respondents. The remaining class shows almost no significant preferences for any attribute and consists of respondents with lower incomes, larger households and a very low proportion of people who are members of an association. These results, in combination with further interactions with stakeholders, can support policy makers in the development of management paths for alpine pastures and mountain meadows in the Eisenwurzen region. For example, the high preferences for biodiversity and regional food suggest a potential for the conservation of these landscapes through traditional management with a focus on biodiversity. These management could be financed by further agri-environmental payments or price premiums for differentiated regional products.