Florian Hartig

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EU agricultural reform fails on biodiversity

G. Pe'er, L. V. Dicks, P. Visconti, R. Arlettaz, A. Báldi, T. G. Benton, S. Collins, M. Dieterich, R. D. Gregory, F. Hartig, K. Henle, P. R. Hobson, D. Kleijn, R. K. Neumann, T. Robijns, J. Schmidt, A. Shwartz, W. J. Sutherland, A. Turbé, F. Wulf & A. V. Scott

Science, 344(6188), 1090–1092 (2014)
Cite this
@article{peer2014eu,
  author = {G. Pe'er and L. V. Dicks and P. Visconti and R. Arlettaz and A. Báldi and T. G. Benton and S. Collins and M. Dieterich and R. D. Gregory and F. Hartig and K. Henle and P. R. Hobson and D. Kleijn and R. K. Neumann and T. Robijns and J. Schmidt and A. Shwartz and W. J. Sutherland and A. Turbé and F. Wulf and A. V. Scott},
  title = {EU agricultural reform fails on biodiversity},
  journal = {Science},
  volume = {344},
  number = {6188},
  pages = {1090--1092},
  year = {2014},
  doi = {10.1126/science.1253425},
}

DOI: 10.1126/science.1253425
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Funding

This study was supported through funding by EC FP7 project SCALES (226852); Swiss National Science Foundation (31003A-120152); Swiss Government; EC FP7 project LIBERATION (311781); MTA Lendület; Arcadia; Natural Environment Research Council (NE/K015419/1).

View article (DOI)

Abstract

Extra steps by Member States are needed to protect farmed and grassland ecosystems

What the paper shows and why it matters

(AI-generated)

Agricultural expansion and intensification are major drivers of biodiversity loss, and in Europe the habitats tied to farming, such as grasslands and peatlands, have the worst conservation status of all ecosystems. The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) accounts for almost 40% of the EU budget and influences management of half its land, giving it more environmental impact than any other EU policy. In 2010 the Commission proposed tying 30% of direct payments to three “greening” measures in the 2014–2020 reform, and the enacted reform was presented as greener. A greener CAP is consistent with the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2020, which asks the CAP to maximise areas under biodiversity-related measures. The paper questions the assumption that the greening measures, as finally negotiated, will benefit biodiversity.

The paper argues that the 2014–2020 reform of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy fails on biodiversity: its greening measures are so diluted that they are unlikely to help, while funding for rural development (Pillar 2), which pays for voluntary agri-environment schemes, falls. Ecological Focus Areas, areas on farms meant to benefit nature, were cut from a proposed 7% to 5% of farmed area and apply only to farms with more than 15 ha of arable land, a threshold that exempts at least 88% of EU farms. Several of the land uses that qualify, such as nitrogen-fixing crops and catch crops, are not known to benefit biodiversity. Permanent grassland may shrink by up to 5% of its net area, with little protection outside the EU’s Natura 2000 sites. The crop-diversity requirement exempts farms under 10 ha and, in many Member States, sets a minimum below the average crop diversity farms already have. Pillar 2 funding falls by 18% in absolute terms.

The paper concludes that the EU has lost an opportunity, but that the increased devolution of responsibility to the Member States leaves them flexibility to protect farmland habitats. If they adopt only the minimum requirements, the EU’s 2020 biodiversity targets and the relevant global Aichi targets would be undermined. The paper gives six recommendations for Member States and five actions for the next reform, among them a larger agri-environment budget with outcome-based rather than area-based targets and fewer exemptions for Ecological Focus Areas. A follow-up by Pe’er et al. (2020) set out action points for the post-2020 policy.

References

  • Pe'er et al. (2020). Action needed for the EU Common Agricultural Policy to address sustainability challenges. People and Nature 2, 305–316. doi:10.1002/pan3.10080