Authors: Hecker, Lutz Philip; Sturm, Astrid ;Wätzold, Frank;

Agri-environment schemes (AES) that perform state-dependent conservation measures are commonly associated with higher ecological impact, but also with higher monitoring costs than AES that perform state-independent conservation measures. As a result, it is unclear whether state-dependent or state independent AES are more cost-effective. In this paper, we investigate whether adjusting payments to farmers for differences in the impact of state dependent and independent conservation measures on harvest yields leads to cost-effectiveness advantages of state-dependent AES. To analyse this aspect we apply ecological-economic modelling to the case of endangered meadow birds’ conservation in the Aller valley in Germany. Our results suggest that state dependent AES outperform state independent AES by far. However, cost-effectiveness gains are largely driven by higher ecological impacts and to a lesser extent by lower compensation payments to farmers.