Agriculture & Land Management

Latest in Agriculture & Land Management

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  Land as an Environmental Resource

  How can we meet the different and often conflicting demands we make on our limited supply of rural land in Europe? A more strategic approach to the way in which land is used is needed than has been the case in the past. This report for DG Environment looks at the data, the challenges and the policy options for Europe.

• A greener CAP: still within reach?

  The greening of the CAP hangs in the balance in the final negotiations; a synthesis of key issues and requirements.

• Greening the CAP - how ‘equivalent’ are alternative approaches?

  A contentious issue in the negotiations on the future of the CAP is how to implement the proposed new green direct payments to farmers. However, proposals to increase flexibility for Member States will not necessarily be administratively any simpler and may risk weakening environmental outcomes.

• Biodiversity proofing of the EU budget

  This study shows how more can be done to firstly avoid and minimize detrimental impacts of EU funding on biodiversity, and secondly to increase biodiversity benefits.

• Land use mapping for sustainable biofuels

  IEEP and WWF join forces to define criteria and principles to guide the mapping of appropriate land use to ensure sustainable biofuel crops.

• Principles of Double Funding

  This briefing explores the issue of double funding in relation to the CAP reform debate and considers the implications for delivering added value for the environment.

• EP vote must not undermine a greener CAP

  A decade’s progress in improving the Common Agricultural Policy’s environmental credentials risks being lost if the EP vote to water down the Commission’s ambitious proposals to green the CAP.

• Land Stewardship in England post 2013: CAP greening and agri-environment

  What will the introduction of environmental measures in Pillar 1 mean for agri-environment schemes in the future? A topic of much debate as part of the CAP reform negotiations, this new report explores the potential impacts of greening Pillar 1 on England’s entry-level agri-environment scheme and how a future scheme could be designed to deliver more for the environment and ensure the long term sustainability of farming.

• Designing RDPs fit for the environment

  Substantial changes to rural development regulation have been proposed which provide significant opportunities for Member States to deliver more for the environment. This report highlights some of these opportunities and sets out a series of principles and environmental priorities to help guide Member States in designing their future rural development programmes.

• Systemic approach to adaptation to climate change and renewable energy harnessing (Biomass and Mini-hydro)

  Biochar has the potential to both mitigate greenhouse gases, and to act as an adaptation measure in terms of responding to the impacts of climate change. Based on its compatibility with the appropriate soil properties, it could increase the resilience of soil to erosion.

• Biofuels and Agricultural Commodity Prices: A Review of the Evidence Base

  EU biofuel use will increase the global prices of agricultural commodities, most notably oilseeds and vegetable oils. This requires close attention by policy makers.

• Maximising environmental benefits through Ecological Focus Areas

  Of the three measures proposed to 'green' Pillar 1 direct payments, Ecological Focus Areas have the greatest potential to address a range of environmental concerns. How much of this potential is realised depends on a number of key factors discussed in this new IEEP report prepared at the request of the Land Use Policy Group.

• European Parliament report on sustainable competitiveness and innovation

  The CAP could, and should, be primarily to assist EU agriculture to become more internationally competitive and sustainable and to achieve this by innovation. It already has many instruments to do this, and the reforms could further assist. However the resources deployed could be far better used.

• Addressing the EU’s biodiversity goals through the CAP

  What is the relationship between the management of agricultural land and biodiversity? To what extent are the EU’s biodiversity goals addressed through the CAP?

• Delivering environmental benefits through entry-level agri-environment schemes in the EU

  A new study of the 2007-13 agri-environment schemes across the whole of EU-27 provides the first typology of ‘entry-level’ agri-environment management and environmental objectives, plus a detailed insight into the design of entry-level agri-environment schemes and calculation of payment rates in seven Member States.

• Delivering Environmental Benefits through Ecological Focus Areas

  IEEP workshop on 6 March brought together a range of stakeholders to discuss possible environmental benefits through Ecological Focus Areas.

• The CAP Proposals: Green in more than name?

  The proposals from the Commission on the future CAP, announced on 12 October, could have represented a major step towards improved environmental management across the EU, but in practice they leave major doubts over how much really will be delivered.

• Mainstreaming the environment and climate change in the post-2013 EU budget

  New IEEP paper examines the opportunities and challenges of the proposed ‘mainstreaming’ of climate change and other environmental priorities in the 2014-2020 EU budget.

• Redesigning the CAP to deliver public goods

  As a contribution to the CAP reform debate, this report considers options for redesigning the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to maximise the delivery of public goods, particularly in relation to the environment and rural vitality.

• Greening the CAP: Delivering Environmental Outcomes through Pillar One

  This opportune paper examines the European Commission’s current proposals for ‘greening’ Pillar 1 of the CAP and their potential to deliver environmental objectives.