On September 3rd, the Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology is hosting a webinar on riparian buffers research.
Join the Hughs Center for Agro-Ecology for a webinar at noon on Monday, Sept. 23, when environmental and resource economist Dr. David Newburn of the University of Marland (UMD) College of Agriculture and Natural Resources will review his Hughes Center-funded research project, “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Economic Incentives to Enhance Riparian Buffer Adoption and Environmental Benefits for Water Quality and Carbon Sequestration.”
Riparian buffers on farmland are a centerpiece of efforts to improve water quality and achieve Chesapeake Bay restoration goals. This project analyzes the incentive program features that are most effective in encouraging rural landowners in Maryland to plant streamside buffers. The project also explores whether voluntary carbon offset markets that pay farmland owners for sequestering carbon in forest buffers — a potential extra revenue source — would significantly increase landowner participation in existing incentive programs like the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and Maryland’s Conservation Buffer Initiative.
The overall goal is to improve the effectiveness of buffer incentive programs by providing insights into what kinds of incentive structures work best to increase landowner buffer installation and environmental outcomes. The UMD-led research team plans to work with the Hughes Center, government agencies, and resource professionals to perform further policy-relevant analysis across the state and Chesapeake Bay region.
Dr. David Newburn is an associate professor and extension specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. His applied research and extension program focuses on two main areas: (1) water quality and the Chesapeake Bay, and (2) land-use policies for preserving Maryland’s farmland and forests. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley and was appointed to serve on the Chesapeake Bay Program Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee. He also currently serves on the Maryland Stream ReLeaf Coordinating Committee.
