Agriculture and Biodiversity
> 10 October 07
Kyiv commitments
By 2006, the identification, using agreed common criteria, of all high nature-value areas in agricultural ecosystems in the pan-European region will be complete. By 2008, a substantial proportion of these areas will be under biodiversity-sensitive management by using appropriate mechanisms such as rural development instruments, agri-environmental programmes and organic agriculture, to inter alia support their economic and ecological viability.
By 2008, financial subsidy and incentive schemes for agriculture in the pan-European region will take the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in consideration.
Progress
Agricultural policies are to some extent being restructured. For example, through a series of reforms the EU Common Agricultural Policy has shifted away from production-related subsidies to put greater emphasis on supporting farmers and the agricultural environment, such as through agri-environment measures that are linked to biodiversity conservation or broader environmental protection. The payments are also tied to the implementation of other EU policies. Thus, farmers who receive direct payments must respect the requirements of the Habitats and Birds Directives. However, not all agricultural policies in the pan-European region yet take sufficient account of biodiversity, and further integration of biodiversity considerations into agricultural policy will be necessary in order to achieve the 2010 target. Also, the effectiveness of the cross-compliance system in achieving the stated environmental and biodiversity objectives has yet to be assessed.
Agri-environment schemes are the most prominent policy tool for nature conservation on farmland, although only a relatively small part of total funding is allocated to biodiversity conservation. In the EU, the share of agricultural land under these schemes varies from less than 5% in the Netherlands and Greece to more than 80% in Austria, Sweden, Finland and Luxembourg. In Switzerland, parallel to environmental measures in field management, farmers are required to convert at least 7% of their land to ecological compensation areas, which covered 11% of agricultural land in 2003. Agri-environment approaches in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia are very varied and usually geared towards general sustainability objectives.
The EC recently suspended the 10-per-cent set-aside requirement for cereals in response to increasing demand for grain, to a large extent driven by support for biofuel production. This is certain to have a negative impact on certain species populations. For example, 7% of woodlarks in the UK were found on set-aside land in a recent RSPB survey. It is not clear whether environmental measures will be taken to compensate for the reduction in set aside. Indeed, the possibility that the production of biofuels will increase substantially poses a significant risk to agricultural biodiversity.
The EEA, PEBLDS and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission-Ispra have been working on the identification of high nature-value farmland. The EEA has made progress in reaching an agreement on the definition of high nature-value farmland at the EU level and the Joint Research Centre -Ispra has drafted maps of high nature-value farmland in the EU. In addition, PEBLDS, in collaboration with the European ECO-Forum and WWF, organised regional workshops for Southeastern Europe, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia for capacity building, increasing awareness and improving data availability (see Annex 4).
The share of high nature-value farmland in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia is probably higher than in Western Europe, but the currently available data do not allow a precise estimate. The Kyiv target of identifying high nature-value farmland has therefore probably only partly been met. As a consequence, the prospects for achieving the second Kyiv agricultural target – that a substantial proportion of these areas will be under biodiversity-sensitive management by 2008 – must also be doubted. Preliminary data for the EU-25 show that agri-environment support is not correlated with the aggregate area of high nature-value farmland per country. Only a small proportion of high nature-value farmland is designated as protected areas or subject to effective biodiversity management measures. Moreover, regions with a high proportion of protected farmland habitats do not appear to have relatively more agri-environment schemes, nor do they have a high share of organic farming. For Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia the lack of data prevents a quantitative assessment.
Progress towards the 2010 target to halt biodiversity loss on farmland is unlikely to be reached without additional actions that conserve high nature-value farmland and improve the biodiversity value of intensively farmed land. Indeed, although much work has taken place on mapping these areas in Europe, there is no ongoing programme that ensures that this will be continued.
Despite the resulting knowledge gaps, several key challenges can be identified:
- the continuing expansion of intensively farmed areas at the expense of natural and semi-natural habitats together with the increasing levels of water use and farm specialisation
- the possible substantial increase in the production of biofuels
- continuation of the declining trends in farmland-related species of birds and butterflies
- the increased presence of invasive alien species
- the abandonment of farmland in several parts of Europe.
About this page
This document is part of the Countdown 2010 Readiness Assessment 2007. Download the entire study in English or Russian or read the chapters online.
Pan-European Progress Towards Achieving the 2010 Biodiversity Target
Introduction
Forests and Biodiversity
Agriculture and Biodiversity
The Pan-European Ecological Network
Invasive Alien Species
Financing Biodiversity
Biodiversity Monitoring and Indicators
Public Participation and Awareness
Additional Challenges
Annex 1: Status and trends of 2010 indicators
Annex 2: C2010 Readiness Assessment Questionnaire
Annex 3: Online Survey on the 2010 Biodiversity Target
Annex 4: Recommendations for high nature value farmland
Annex 5: SEBI2010 Indicators
