The role of wetland advisors in the implementation of wetlands in Sweden

Abstract: Wetlands are commonly known for providing a number of key functions. In the context of Swedish agricultural landscapes, the ability of wetlands to enhance nutrient retention and provide habitats for biodiversity has long been recognized. Nevertheless, many wetlands in Sweden have been lost or damaged due to drainage activities, and there is a need for scaling up the implementation of wetlands. The possibilities to reach wetland implementation goals in Sweden highly depend on voluntary participation by farmers and landowners. In order to enable and encourage landowners and managers to create and manage wetlands, the access to information, support and advice is considered to be vital. One way to provide support is through farm advisory services, such as the project ‘Greppa Näringen’ (GN) in Sweden, in which advice on, among other things, wetland creation and maintenance is offered. However, to date there is relatively little research on how such advisory systems work in practice and what potential barriers there are to their success. This thesis aims at investigating how wetland advisors perceive their role in enabling and encouraging landowners in wetland implementation. It also aims at revealing what barriers the advisors experience and what potential improvements they believe are necessary in order to aid them in their mission and, in turn, promote wetland implementation. This is achieved by conducting semi-structured interviews with 14 wetland advisors within GN. The findings are then analyzed in relation to ideas on knowledge, motivation, dialogue, mutual learning and trust, which previous scholars have identified as key components in the interaction between advisors and farmers. The results show that the wetland advisors draw and refine their knowledge from an array of sources, such as written articles and reports, interaction with other stakeholders, and personal experience of wetland creation and maintenance. Moreover, in their mission to enable and encourage landowners and managers in wetland creation and management, the wetland advisors are required to consider a number of aspects, including landowners’ interests, opportunities for financial support, and environmental conditions. The establishment of relationships between advisors and landowners is of utmost importance, in which dialogue, respect, mutual learning and trust are key components. Furthermore, the study reveals a number of barriers and potential improvements. These regard the need for a longer support-chain, less complex and more reliable systems for financial support, more coherent administrative processing of notifications and permits, and more knowledge and experience on handling opposing interests. It is also vital to further acknowledge wetland functions beyond the current focus on nutrient retention in both financial support systems, research and focus areas within the advisory system of GN, and, finally, to further communicate the opportunity to receive wetland advice both within and beyond GN. This could aid advisors in their mission to transfer knowledge to landowners as well as heighten the quality of the advisory visits, and in turn motivate more landowners and farmers to participate in the implementation of long-term sustainable wetlands in Sweden.