Governments or private initiatives: Where does public confidence in the policy of forest ecosystem services lie ?

AXIS 4 : Economic and social issues: drivers and impacts of change.

Governments or Private Initiatives : Where Does Public Trust Fall in Forest Ecosystem Services Policy?

The project, titled “Governments or Private Initiatives: Where Does Public Trust Fall in Forest Ecosystem Services Policy?”, explores public acceptance of four policy instruments—command-and-control regulations, fiscal incentives, voluntary markets, and eco-labels—across three key dimensions: (1) voluntary vs coercive, (2) market-based vs state-led, and (3) the polluter-pays vs provider-gets principle. The polluter-pays principle assigns responsibility to landowners for maintaining ecosystem services, penalising non-compliance, while the provider-gets principle rewards landowners for voluntarily enhancing ecosystem services beyond a baseline. Using discrete choice experiments and consumer surveys in France and the UK, the study investigates how these approaches influence public trust and willingness to financially support forest ecosystem services. By comparing responses across contexts, the research aims to identify policy features that align best with public values and preferences.