The ALUS program laid out an excellent template to provide an incentive, where you'd look at the public benefit and the value to the public and the cost to the landowner to comply with the environmental outcome you're trying to achieve.
It has to make sense for the landowner, and every case is unique. If you take southern Ontario land costs versus Saskatchewan or Manitoba land costs, there is a different dollar amount to attribute to different behaviours that you want to inspire landowners to undertake.
But it has to be an economic success. I think we can take baby steps. We all know there are limited public finances available to deal with these issues, but a simple thing such as eliminating property taxes from land that isn't farmed because it is going to be put into an environmental stewardship program would be a good first step.
We know that in one municipality here in Manitoba they started a program under which they paid the farmers $40 per acre to store water and restore wetlands. They had a municipal fund to completely pay this cost. The fund was quickly oversubscribed and they had to turn away landowners, because farmers, given the little incentive, quickly stepped up to do their role.
It would be different in every jurisdiction, but I think we know that given the right conditions landowners will do the right thing—given the education and incentive to move in that direction.