Outcomes from the Natura 2000 and Agriculture Workshop in Brussels

Photo by Marc Wieland on Unsplash

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On 28th of September in Brussels, EUROPARC attended a very interesting workshop on Natura 2000 and Agriculture, following up on the European Commission’s Action Plan for nature, people and the economy,. The workshop was jointly organised by the European Network for Rural Development and the European Commission’s Directorate-Generals for agriculture (DG AGRI) and environment (DG ENV).

The aim of the event was to explore how to make an effective use of support possibilities for Natura 2000 under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

The workshop enabled lively debate and cooperation among national and regional authorities in charge of agriculture and the environment, and environmental organisations, with the aim of increasing synergies between Natura 2000 and the Rural Development Programmes. It concluded that

existing rural development tools can be effectively used for nature conservation purposes. Further adjustments to the RDPs are possible to better address the needs of Natura 2000 sites, especially in relation to forestry.

EU Agri-Environmental Schemes

Good practice examples were presented at the event, highlighted the potential of Results-based Agri-environment Schemes to deliver nature conservation objectives while acknowledging that farmers’ engagement is key to their success. Other examples demonstrated that effective nature-related projects piloted under the LIFE Programme could be scaled up with EAFRD support.

The event gathered over 70 participants from 22 EU Member States, including representatives of national and regional RDP Managing Authorities, environmental organisations, the European Commission and the ENRD Contact Point. 

In order to better integrate nature conservation and agriculture in the future, dialogue and collaboration among the two different DGs and all stakeholders is crucial, therefore participants very appreciated the inputs received in that direction during this event.

 

Downloads

The key presentations from the DGs are available here:

The Birds and Habitats Directive and the Nature Action Plan, Jérémie Crespin, DG ENV

Rural development toolbox for Natura 2000, Krzysztof Sulima, DG AGRI

Farming for biodiversity: Available know-how on results-based agri-environment payment schemes (RBAPS), Vujadin Kovacevic, DG ENV

  

More info about the event and all case-studies presentations here.

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