Common Property Resource Management and REPS Uptake in Ireland: the case of Irish Commonage

This paper looks at the factors determining REPS participation among commonage farmers in the West of Ireland and on the impact REPS has had on participating farmers’ income and on their environmental practices and attitudes. The study reveals that sheep farmers are less likely to join REPS than cattle farmers and that being in receipt of other sources of State income acted as a deterrent to participation. REPS had a positive impact on participants’ income and was most successful in changing farmer practices in a more environmentally benign direction, when doing so imposed no additional costs on the farmer. Environmental awareness among all farmers appears to be poor although REPS farmers display more appreciation of the degraded state of commonage than do non-REPS farmers. Farmers preference for a continuation of the status quo with respect to commonage management and a lack of discontent with respect to the distribution of past commonage rights points to the potential of building on a more co-operative approach to environmental management.