Developing a decision-making tool for sustainable climate action while harmonizing economic, GHG, and ecosystem service indicators in local initiatives: A case study in Québec, Canada for buffer strip implementation in the agricultural sector

In the global pursuit of climate change mitigation and biodiversity preservation, effective leadership from public decision-makers is paramount. While national strategies outline overarching plans, successful execution hinges mainly on local public authority initiatives toward the adoption of sustainable practices by local stakeholders in their activities. In rural areas, the agricultural sector is of a primary interest to contribute both to the climate and ecological emergency by adopting innovative agri-environmental practices such as extended riparian strip at the edge of crops field. Our research illustrates the core decision-making challenges that lie in arbitrating between the public cost of a buffer strip project lead by a municipality in collaboration with local farmers and the anticipated benefits, both environmental (riparian restauration, greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reductions and others ecosystem services) and economics (harvested biomass revenues, carbon market). To operationalize a buffer strip, we first review the various assessment approaches of the expected benefits from similar conservation project with GHG protocols and ecosystem services valuation. Then, we introduce a case study of such municipal-famers projects and emphasize the dependence of the project to government financial support. We delve into the parameters of our assessment model of this case study, including time horizon, costs, revenues, and the presence of a public grant. Preliminary numerical results, such as breakeven analysis and the determination of the ecosystem service value, are presented, underscoring the complexity of decision-making in sustainable initiatives at the intersection of economic, environmental, and socio-ecological considerations.