ALUS Manitoba Pilot (Blanshard) — Canada's First Landowner Payments for Wetlands and Natural Areas, Strong Uptake but Thin Outcome Data

The Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) concept was piloted in the Rural Municipality of Blanshard, within the Little Saskatchewan River Conservation District, Manitoba, from 2006 to 2009 and is described by the province as the first of its kind in Canada. Landowners received annual payments for maintaining and enhancing natural assets in four categories: wetlands, natural areas, riparian areas and ecologically sensitive lands (up to 20% of the latter could be enrolled). Wetlands carried the highest payment rate.
According to Manitoba Agriculture, about 21,000 acres were enrolled, more than 70% of landowners took part, and roughly $1.2 million in payments was issued over the three years. The Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation handled contracts and audits. The pilot found ALUS was most effective at securing wetland services, especially on land with little agricultural value. Pilot support came from the provincial government, Delta Waterfowl Foundation and Keystone Agricultural Producers.
The model later spread: it was run in Ontario (a 24-acre reforestation agreement in Norfolk County dates to 2010, paying about $30 per acre per year) and Quebec's Montérégie, and ALUS Canada relaunched as an independent not-for-profit in 2016.
Caution: a 2014 Dalhousie University case study (Campbell) concluded ALUS succeeded in engaging farmers at grassroots level but that there was no definitive data showing environmental improvements, and recommended better monitoring. Outcome claims should therefore be treated as uptake evidence rather than proof of ecological gain.

Read the full analysis: https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/environment/ecological-goods-and-services/print,alternative-land-use-services.html