Agro-ecosystem services management of Bulgarian farms

Hrabrin Bachev

Abstract: Despite growing environmental issues and importance, research on types and management of agroecosystem services in Bulgaria is at the beginning stage. This article incorporates a holistic interdisciplinary approach, and identifies diverse ecosystem services provided by the Bulgarian farms, and various private, market, collective and public modes of their management. The New Institutional Economics methodology is adapted and analyses made on the base of survey data collected by farm managers. The study has found out that Bulgarian farms maintain or produce a great number of essential ecosystem services among which provisioning food and feed, and conservation of elements of the natural environment prevail. A great variety of private, market, collective and public modes of governance related to agroecosystem services have been used. There is significant differentiation of employed managerial forms depending on the type of ecosystem services and specialization of agricultural holdings. Management of agroecosystem services is associated with a considerable increase in the production and transaction costs of participating farms as well as big socio-economic and environmental effects. All these findings give a new valuable information for decision-makers at all levels for improving public policies and management strategies of farms. Holistic frameworks for analysing the system of management of agro-ecosystem services is to be extended and improved which requires collection of “new” type of micro-information on (agro)ecosystem services and forms, factors, efficiency and impacts of their management.

Keywords: agricultural farms; ecosystem services; mechanisms and modes of governance

Date published: 2021-12-16