Reconciling Property Rights and Land Conservation: The Hybrid Paradigm

摘要

Two basic approaches are used to conserve agricultural land resources: voluntary incentives such as the purchase of conservation easements and governmental regulations. Both approaches have advantages, and disadvantages; thus, conserving resources by relying on only one or the other is like trying to win at football by playing only offense or defense. A better approach-perhaps the only truly effective approach-is to use both in a deliberate and concerted way. This hybrid approach is similar to a crop variety that gets its vigor from the diversity of its genetic makeup where the strengths of one genetic parent offset the weaknesses of the other.