What role for environmental cooperatives in collective agri-environmental schemes?

The collective action dilemma inherent to environmental quality problems implies that agri-environmental contracts are best managed collectively. Such collective contracts need to be coordinated, a complex process that in some countries is chaperoned through an associative structure. This research assesses the potential of environmental cooperatives (EC) for the governance of collective agri-environmental contracts. The context in which ECs historically emerged is presented, followed by an analysis across case studies of the factors that can facilitate the role of ECs. These factors are compared to a recent case study on a newly emerged French EC, for which a series of interviews are analysed. This investigation highlights that the role of the EC is above all a facilitating one, mediating between the different interest groups by ensuring three important contract criteria: (1) place-based targets and locally specific measures, (2) a participatory process to contract design, (3) flexibility in the measure’s adaptation.环境质量问题所固有的集体行动困境表明，农业环境合同（agri-environmental contracts）最适宜通过集体模式开展管理。此类集体合同需进行协调统筹，而这一复杂流程在部分国家需依托社团类组织予以牵头推进。本研究评估了环境合作社（environmental cooperatives, EC）在集体农业环境合同治理中的应用潜力。本文首先阐述了环境合作社的历史起源背景，随后通过多案例研究分析了能够助力其发挥职能的各类影响因素。将上述影响因素与一项针对新近成立的法国环境合作社的最新案例研究进行对比分析，该案例研究基于一系列访谈资料展开。本研究表明，环境合作社的核心职能本质上为协调服务，通过保障三项关键合同准则在不同利益群体间开展调解：其一，基于地域的目标与本地化专属措施；其二，合同设计环节的参与式流程；其三，措施适配的灵活性。