Landscape Approach, Sustainable Land Use and Agricultural Policies
ENCA activity under this Priority has focused on sustainable land use practices and the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The IG SLU has taken forward much of the activity under this priority.
Sustainable Land Use and The CAP
Context
The United Nations defines sustainable land management (SLM) as “the use of land resources, including soils, water, animals and plants, for the production of goods to meet changing human needs, while simultaneously ensuring the long-term productive potential of these resources and the maintenance of their environmental functions”.
Land use, and, land degradation is a primary driver of biodiversity loss. However, the relationships between land use and biodiversity are complex, context specific, and, are often two-way. For example, some habitats and species communities are dependent on land use practices, and vice versa (Haines-Young 2009).
ENCA members are interested in highlighting best-practice cases shown to conserve and protect nature in the agricultural landscape. Further, ENCA is interested in influencing policies relating to land management practices, at the national and European scale. For example, the European Commission's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
ENCA Activities
- ENCA-22 Estonia 2018 focused on 'Agri-environmental reform for enhancing biodiversity outcomes.' It had presentations on Country approaches to implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), future reforms and new methods for implementation.
- ENCA-21 Lithuania 2017 where the Member presentations, presented by BfN and UBA, focused on CAP Greening: Present Status & Future Opportunities.
Presentations and papers are available upon request from the ENCA secretariat.
ENCA Outputs
Delivering Environmental and Biodiversity Objectives trough the CAP 2021-27: A Synthesis of Evidence by ENCA
ENCA Members working with the IG SLU have developed a response to the European Commission's Legislative Proposals concerning the Communication Towards the CAP after 2020: The Future of Food and Farming.
The paper comprises a summary and key messages supported by four sections,
- Introduction
- The Environmental Challenge - A synthesis of the biodiversity evidence relevant to the CAP
- Evidence from the CAP 2014-20
- Reflections on the CAP legislative proposals
ENCA outputs relating to this priority can be downloaded from the Library.
ENCA-22 2018 Presentation
- BIODIVERSITY AND AGRICULTURE: IPBES ECA ASSESSMENT
Aveliina Helm, University of Tartu, Estonia
Presentation available upon request from the ENCA secretariat.