Brunner, A. & Boccaccio, L 2010. BOU Proceedings – Lowland Farmland Birds 3: delivering solutions in an uncertain world
http://www.bou.org.uk/bouproc-net/lfb3/brunner&boccaccio.pdf
This paper forms part of the proceedings from the BOU conference
Lowland Farmland Birds 3: delivering solutions in an uncertain world.
Other papers from these proceedings can be viewed at www.BOUPROC.net.
AGRI-ENVIRONMENTAL SCHEMES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND
THEIR POTENTIAL FOR WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
Arial Brunner*1 & Luigi Boccaccio2
1
BirdLife
International,
Brussels,
Belgium
2
RSPB,
The
Lodge,
Sandy,
Bedfordshire
SG19
2DL,
UK
*
Email:
Ariel.Brunner@birdlife.org
Agri‐environment
payments
are
the
measure
receiving
the
largest
allocation
of
public
funds
within
the
EU
Rural
Development
policy
and
represent
by
far
the
largest
financial
tool
potentially
available
in
the
European
Union
to
support
farmland
biodiversity
conservation.
In
this
paper
we
analyse
the
potential
benefits
for
biodiversity
of
the
agri‐
environment
schemes
included
in
a
selection
of
national
rural
development
programmes
for
the
2007‐2013
EU
budget
period.
Our
evaluation
suggests
that
a
number
of
programmed
agri‐environment
schemes
have
a
potential
to
halt
and
reverse
the
loss
of
biodiversity,
but
that
this
measure
has
been
often
implemented
as
an
additional
form
of
farmers
income
support,
rather
than
as
an
effective
conservation
tool.
Many
schemes,
usually
referred
to
as
‘integrated
production’
or
‘input
reduction’,
promote
no
more
than
common
practice
or
are
based
on
commitments
which
are
difficult
to
verify
in
the
field.
In
other
cases,
depending
on
national
economic
priorities,
schemes
are
designed
to
support
specific
crops,
without
any
clear
environmental
benefit.
We
highlight
a
number
of
examples
of
payment
levels
not
being
proportional
to
the
complexity
of
commitments,
so
that
easier
schemes
are
better
paid
than
more
demanding
ones,
with
the
consequence
of
good
conservation
schemes
being
“outcompeted”.
In
most
cases,
wildlife
conservation
needs
are
ignored
by
agri‐
environment
schemes.
Huge
differences
are
found
between
different
programmes,
even
among
neighbouring
regions.
Countrary
to
common
misconception,
some
‘new’
Member
States
score
better
than
many
EU15
in
the
design
of
schemes
with
a
clear
potential
for
wildlife
conservation.
Under‐funding
is
a
chronic
condition
of
well
designed
Brunner, A. & Boccaccio, L 2010. BOU Proceedings – Lowland Farmland Birds 3: delivering solutions in an uncertain world
http://www.bou.org.uk/bouproc-net/lfb3/brunner&boccaccio.pdf
conservation
schemes.
We
conclude
that
these
flaws
should
be
urgently
addressed
in
current
rural
development
programmes,
e.g.
seizing
the
opportunity
offered
by
the
Common
Agriculture
Policy
‘Health
Check’.
For
the
next
programming
period,
a
deep
reform
of
the
overall
CAP
is
needed.
Within
such
a
reformed
policy,
much
better
funding,
targeting
and
science
based
design
of
agri‐environment
schemes
must
be
ensured.
Ways
must
also
be
found
to
overcome
the
limits
of
the
current
system
that
is
too
rigidly
based
on
an
additional
costs/income
foregone
basis,
including,
possibly,
by
linking
schemes
to
more
competitive
selection
procedures
and
output‐based
payments.
Finally,
much
better
scrutiny,
control
and
monitoring
will
be
needed
to
ensure
better
guarantees
of
efficacy
in
wildlife
conservation
and
efficiency
in
the
use
of
public
money.
Ariel Brunner
is
Senior
EU
Agriculture
Policy
officer
with
the
environmental
NGO
BirdLife
International
based
in
Brussels
(Belgium).
His
main
work
is
in
advocating
reform
of
the
European
Union
Common
Agriculture
Policy
and
better
implementation
of
the
EU
Rural
development
policy
and
in
advocating
sustainability
of
biofuels
and
bioenergy
policies.
Before
moving
to
Brussels
he
was
following
the
implementation
of
EU
nature
conservation
legislation
in
Italy
and
has
been
instrumental
to
the
designation
of
the
country’s
Special
Protection
Areas
network
(sites
protected
under
the
EU
Wild
Birds
Directive).
Born
in
Israel,
he
holds
an
M.Sc.
in
Environmental
Sciences
at
Milan
University.