however, should be developedwith landholders to ensure that they
are achievable and will provide the desired ecological outcomes.
Observable improvements in land condition can be a powerful
stimulus for behaviour change, as discussed by the ‘experimenters’;
programs should work towards this aim.
The relative homogeneity or heterogeneity of the landholding
population should be considered during program design. For
example, an assessment of land use in an area can indicatewhether
landholders are more likely to be oriented towards production or
non-production activities. Such a distinction has been demon-
strated to reveal important differences in the personal circum-
stances and attitudes of landholders, which may influence their
preference for policy instruments and thereby inform instrument
choice in program design (Moon and Cocklin, in press), as well as
drive their perception of the landscape and thereby their land
management and business strategies (Bohnet et al., 2011). Given
the correlations between motivations and barriers, understanding
the characteristics of the landholding population may increase
participation through the provision of appropriate incentives and
the simultaneous removal of barriers to participation. In areas
where the landholding population is heterogeneous, consideration
may need to be given to the design of two or more distinct
programs to meet the needs of different landholding groups.