TY - JOUR

T1 - Unraveling the complexity of land use change and path dependency in agri-environmental schemes for small farmers

T2 - A serious game approach

AU - Alpuche Álvarez, Yair Asael

AU - Jepsen, Martin Rudbeck

AU - Müller, Daniel

AU - Rasmussen, Laura Vang

AU - Zhanli, Sun

N1 - Funding Information: We wish to show our appreciation to the Consejo Nacional de Humanidades, Ciencia y Tecnologías (CONAHCYT) for funding this study as part of a scholarship 739577 for doctoral studies abroad. As well, we extend our special thanks to the University of Copenhagen for the provision of research infrastructure and hosting the doctoral studies of the first author. Finally, we thank all the participants from the localities: X-Pichil, X-Yatil, Cumpich, Nohalal and Tabi. Funding Information: We wish to show our appreciation to the Consejo Nacional de Humanidades, Ciencia y Tecnologías (CONAHCYT) for funding this study as part of a scholarship 739577 for doctoral studies abroad. As well, we extend our special thanks to the University of Copenhagen for the provision of research infrastructure and hosting the doctoral studies of the first author. Finally, we thank all the participants from the localities: X-Pichil, X-Yatil, Cumpich, Nohalal and Tabi. Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - This study investigates how Maya farmers in Mexico respond to agri-environmental subsidies aimed at promoting sustainable land use decisions. We do so through a serious games approach, using a tailor-designed board game to identify the land use behaviors of Maya farmers. The game simulated three different subsidy programs promoting mechanized agriculture, forest conservation, and agroforestry. We find that farmers tend to clear forested areas in response to agroforestry subsidies. Also, we observe that land use decisions are path-dependent, with farmers adhering to traditional and mechanized agriculture and hesitant to engage in conservation and agroforestry. These findings highlight the potential of serious games as a tool to improve understandings of how farmers make land use decisions and the resulting land use change patterns. Specifically, our findings show that serious games are well suited to understand how path dependency in decision-making can influence the effect of subsidies – and whether subsidies thereby achieve the intended goals, such as reduced deforestation.

AB - This study investigates how Maya farmers in Mexico respond to agri-environmental subsidies aimed at promoting sustainable land use decisions. We do so through a serious games approach, using a tailor-designed board game to identify the land use behaviors of Maya farmers. The game simulated three different subsidy programs promoting mechanized agriculture, forest conservation, and agroforestry. We find that farmers tend to clear forested areas in response to agroforestry subsidies. Also, we observe that land use decisions are path-dependent, with farmers adhering to traditional and mechanized agriculture and hesitant to engage in conservation and agroforestry. These findings highlight the potential of serious games as a tool to improve understandings of how farmers make land use decisions and the resulting land use change patterns. Specifically, our findings show that serious games are well suited to understand how path dependency in decision-making can influence the effect of subsidies – and whether subsidies thereby achieve the intended goals, such as reduced deforestation.

KW - Land use complexity

KW - Land use decisions

KW - Maya farmers

KW - Political drivers

KW - Serious games

U2 - 10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107067

DO - 10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107067

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85183566414

VL - 139

JO - Land Use Policy

JF - Land Use Policy

SN - 0264-8377

M1 - 107067

ER -