“Nature Conservation and the EU Policy for Sustainable Land Management in the New EU Member States” Kilian Delbrück, BMU, Bonn Summary

Kilian Delbrück, Bonn General This conference has been a valuable opportunity for exchange of experiences and learning from each other In the new Member States a rich agro biodiversity can be found Impressive work has been done by the new Member States in implementing the rural development regulation

Kilian Delbrück, Bonn General Rural development policy is essential for implementing Natura 2000 and for meeting the 2010 biodiversity target Sustainability of European agriculture lies in the 2nd pillar Direct payments are not targeted to public goods, this leads to negative impacts on nature and biodiversity Conditions are very diverse between and within countries, „no ‚one size fits all‘ solutions“ Diverse and attractive landscapes are a central element of rural development

Kilian Delbrück, Bonn General Strategic approach is important „Where do we want to go?“ „What are the measures?“ Targeting is crucial, but can be difficult due to the complexity of the issue Coordination with ERDF and ESF has mostly been weak Climate change adaptation and mitigation and ensuring sustainable and nature friendly bioenergy production are new challenges not reflected in most programmes

Kilian Delbrück, Bonn Axis 1 Many programmes lay the focus on axis 1 (competitiveness) Competitiveness is not cost effectiveness „nature friendly land management can contribute to competitiveness“ Axis 1 and axis 3 measures should integrate environment and nature concerns Good examples have been presented

Kilian Delbrück, Bonn Axis 2 Most programmes comprise in axis 2 the following agro environment measures: –organic farming –grassland „ packages “ –endangered breeds –erosion –water belts / buffer zones Some programmes contain a number of more specific and also innovative measures (e.g. brown bears, forestry)

Kilian Delbrück, Bonn Axis 2 „Many good programmes in axis 2, money is there, but still more needs to be done“ Pilot projects for testing of new measures and exchange of experiences with new measures are important LFA can help reaching nature conservation objectives, but criteria need targeting to support for High Nature Value farmers

Kilian Delbrück, Bonn Procedural issues Experience from 2004 – 2006 was helpful in the preparation of the programmes for 2007 – 2013 Involvement and cooperation with farmers has been essential: „Go to the farm and talk with farmers“ Involvement of NGOs in the preparation of the programmes has been helpful and should be continued when implementing the programmes Advisory Services are essential for successful Agri- Environment schemes, but advisors often are lacking competence in this field => „train the trainers!“ More than advice: „Meeting, sharing, understanding!“

Kilian Delbrück, Bonn Cross Compliance Underlying questions for cross compliance: –why do we pay direct support? –how is it justified? –is it able to promote sustainable agriculture Impact of cross compliance remains limited Improvement of cross compliance necessary: –optimized control and enforcement system –harmonized standards in EU –possible introduction of new standards like „ ecological priority areas “ (replacing set aside –include WFD issues

Kilian Delbrück, Bonn Future of GAP and rural development Rural development and nature friendly sustainable agriculture instead of agro factories Health Check and Budget Review are a opportunity for major changes in GAP Shifting funds from pillar 1 to pillar 2 is necessary to reach nature conservation and rural development objectives GAP support should be targeted to public goods and to HNV farmers in particular

Kilian Delbrück, Bonn Future of GAP and rural development Regional marketing taking into account local needs should be supported Reform of LFA and set aside are also important challenges EU seminars on rural development strategies and programmes comparable to NATURA 2000 biogeographical seminars would be positive