Evaluation contingente et paysages agricoles. Application au bocage de Loire- Atlantique

Contingent valuation and agricultural landscapes. An application to the Loire-Atlantique hedgerow landscape The CAP after 1 992 recognized the production of positive externalities by peasants. These externalities are essentially composed of agricultural landscapes which generate use and non use benefits for the consumers. These benefits have to be valuated in order to internalise the landscapes into the market. The contingent method which is suitable for this valuation, has been applied for the preservation of agricultural landscapes in different countries of EEC. Our objective was to answer to the following question : has the consumer the willingness to pay (WTP) to help peasants to produce and to maintain landscapes while he already sustains agriculture by tax ? We assumed that the consumer's behavior would differ between conservation and restoration. We assumed also that the method of payment and the quantity of landscapes would influence the willingness to pay. We applied the contingent valuation to estimate the willingness to pay for preserving the agricultural landscapes of France and the willingness to pay for restoring the hedgerow landscapes in one region (Loire-Atlantique). With a mail survey and using a payment card (PC) and a set of photos, about 3000 households have been asked to valuate their willingness to pay for both scenarii, conservation and restoration. We elaborated two versions of the questionnaire which differ by the variation of payment card for the conservation and by the quantity of hedgerow landscapes to be restored in Loire-Atlantique : PC1 and totality of hedgerow landscapes in the first version and PC2 and half of the same area in the second one. The estimated average WTP for the conservation of agricultural landscapes is 530 francs per year and per household. Household's income, age and educational level are the main explanatory variables of the WTP. The estimated average WTP for the hedgerow landscapes restoration is 67 francs per year and per household. This WTP differs from the last one by its explanatory variables — which are more subjective factors — like the appreciation of households on landscapes or on the efficiency of the agricultural supports. We underlined the influence of the payment card on WTP and we established an inclusion bias (53 francs for whole area and 41 francs for a half). The latter confirmed the fact that the quantity is not a determinant variable in the valuation of environmental goods.