Action 21107 - Integration of Environment Concerns into Agriculture (AGRI-ENV)

As half of the European Union's land is farmed (and approximately 90% is rural area), the agriculture sector plays an important influence on the natural environment in Europe.

Through the last reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Rural Development is playing an increasingly important role in helping rural areas to meet the economic, social and environmental challenges of the 21st century. Rural areas make up 90 percent of the territory of the enlarged EU and agriculture is a key determinant of the quality of the countryside and the environment.

The new legal framework for Rural Development 2007-2013 points more clearly to the direction of improving sustainability through the right balance between competitive agricultural production and the respect of nature and the environment. The policies integration process between agriculture and environment implies the need to ensure coherence and synergies, it requires the introduction of measures seeking environmental protection into the Common Agricultural Policy (cross-compliance) and to foster development of agricultural practices preserving the environment and safeguarding the countryside.

The above mentioned Rural Development regulation sets also EU strategic guidelines for the Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework through objectives and indicators to measure achievement. Therefore, common methodology and common indicators will have to be developed to carry out ex- ante and ex-post evaluation of the programme at EU level. Furthermore, a platform for exchange of research outcomes through a European Network for Rural Development will help Member States to build capacity for evaluation.

All these policy developments bring to the forefront the need to correctly assess the relevance of farming practices and their impacts on the environment. Furthermore, the maintenance of the multi-function of the land in very diversified European rural areas will require developing spatially targeted assessments underpinned by geo-spatial modeling and robust scientific basis; exchanging experiences and disseminating successful tools and methods.

 

Specific objectives of the Action

The Action assesses the integration of environmental concerns into agricultural policy. It supports the impact assessment of the Common Agricultural Policy and Rural Development Policy on the European environment with a focus on spatial aspects (i.e. provision of geographical data sets, geo- spatial modeling and analyses, maps and indicators). The EU level Rural Development priority areas biodiversity and the preservation and development of high nature value farming systems and traditional agricultural landscapes; as well as water quality and climate change impacts are addressed. The aim is to provide information on current state and on changes in the condition of the environment in rural areas based on analysis and modeling tools.

The European Land Information System for the Agri- Environment (ELISA) is developed to support some aspects of environmental assessment The integration of biophysical and economic models in a territorial context is tested to provide integrated geo-referenced impacts of farming practices driven by the economical situation in place.

Activities are supported by studies within the Pilot River Basin frame, working across scales in collaboration with national and regional authorities in Member States as well as with the European Environment Agency (EEA).

In summary, Action AGRI-ENV addresses the following overarching objectives:

1. Agricultural land management

2. Agriculture and water issues

3. Development of geo-spatial tools for analysing agriculture-environment. relations

 

The Action has developed pan-European data sets such as the Catchment Characterisation and Modelling (CCM) and the Fate of Agro-chemicals in the Terrestrial Ecosystem (FATE) systems. CCM system consists of a European-wide database of river networks and catchments. The second version is now available for our customers (DG AGRI, DG ENV, EEA, ESTAT) and the whole public.

The FATE system aims to provide support to European environmental legislation concerning the problem of nutrients in the environment. The system combines (1) a statistical model GREEN for the European scale, used as a screening tool to identify catchments with high nutrient losses; (2) a semi-distributed physically-based SWAT model to understand within those areas, the major processes and pathways determining the nutrient losses; and (3) a farm-scale model EPIC to elaborate appropriate farming practices that could reduce pollution load without endangering the farm economic sustainability. These modeling tools are underpinned by harmonised pan-European database on crop shares, livestock density, inputs of fertilizers.

The Action Agri-Env is also strongly involved in research with European partners through FP6 research projects such as: HAIR, TEMPQSIM, FOOTPRINT, CAPRI-DynaSpat, LUMOCAP, SENSOR, GENEDEC, CCAT.

 

Contact info

Jean-Michel Terres

Tel: (+39) 0332 785254   E-mail: jean-michel.terres(at)jrc.it

Main customers

- DG Agriculture

- DG Environment

- DG EUROSTAT

- European Environment Agency

 

EU Legislation and Documents supported by this Action

- Common Agricultural Policy: Council Regulation on Support for Rural Development – 1698/2005/EC; Council Decision on Community strategic guidelines for Rural Development (Programming period 2007–2013) (2006/144/EC); Communication on Agri-Environmental indicators (COM/2006/508)

- Environmental policy: 6th Community Environment Action Programme (decision No 1600/2002/EC); Nitrate Directive (91/676/EEC); Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC); Directive concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market (91/414/EEC); Communication Halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010 - COM(2006) 216

 

Relevant links

Europa Web Site: Agriculture and Rural Development

Europa Web Site: Environment

European Environment Agency: Agriculture

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development: Agri-environmental indicators

Landscape Europe Network

Water Framework Directive

Integrated Project SENSOR (Sustainability Impact Assessment: Tools for ENvironmental, Social and EcOnomic Effects of Multifunctional Land Use in European Regions)