Adoption of conservation practices by rural landholders

Much of the focus of government policy for land and water conservation is on changing the behaviour and management practices of rural landholders. However, these policies often neglect the large body of evidence about what it takes to achieve such changes. This paper is a selective review and interpretation of the literature, conducted by a team from three relevant disciplines: agricultural and resource economics, rural sociology and social psychology. Adoption is based on subjective perceptions or expectations rather than on objective truth. These perceptions depend on three broad sets of issues: the process of learning and experience, the characteristics and circumstances of the landholder within their social and economic environment, and the characteristics of the practice. These three elements are considered in detail in the following three sections. The last section discusses the implications of the review for various stakeholders: researchers, extension agents, and policy makers.