More than spatial coordination – How Dutch agricultural collectives foster social capital for effective governance of agri-environmental measures

Collective approaches for agri-environmental measures are known for aiming at spatial coordination of measures to enhance ecological effectiveness. In the Netherlands, governance networks for agri-environmental measures are centered around agricultural collectives that function as intermediaries between individual farmers and governmental as well as non-governmental actors. Against the background that some agricultural collectives are bottom-up and other top-down initiated, we analyzed in how far they can build up social capital through formal and informal relations. We used the Net-Map method to collect qualitative and quantitative data for a Social Network Analysis to uncover the network characteristics that contribute to a certain level of social capital. The results revealed that the umbrella organization links the collectives to the national governmental level and to other collectives. This is especially important for top-down initiated collectives. The facilitation of internal meetings within the collectives is important for social learning. Furthermore, a formalization of the exchange between collectives and stakeholders of nature conservation could strengthen cooperation where traditionally conflicts dominate. By analyzing interaction in detail, the social reasoning to promote collective agri-environmental measures was highlighted. They enable collaboration of different stakeholders at multiple levels to the end that knowledge and resources are bundled.