1. Soil and Water Protection in European Agriculture: proposed guidelines book October 2005 Mike Lane

2. Outline The background: - Political environment - SOWAP and ProTerra projects The proposal: Conservation Agriculture guidelines for Europe Opportunity for collaboration

3. SOWAP and ProTerra SOWAP –Soil and Water Protection Project –EU Life Environment Project –Arable crops, Northern and Central Europe ProTerra –For soil –Syngenta project –Vines and olives, Mediterranean region

4. Political environment Water Framework Directive - Here now Soil Framework Directive - Coming soon These set environmental targets for –Clean water –Healthy soil for farmers and land managers, amongst others No detail on –How to keep water clean? –What is healthy soil, and how to achieve it? CAP Reform – Single farm payments requiring observation of environmental standards. Will help to deliver Water and Soil directives

5. SOWAP and ProTerra Demonstrating that good soil management benefits the environment and the farm business Arable and perennial crops Multi-disciplinary –soil erosion –water quality (chemical and biological) –biodiversity (above and below ground) –Economics Widespread across Europe

6. SOWAP & ProTerra: European relevance...... = ProTerra = SOWAP. = Possible new collaborations....

7. and importantly, Farmers SOWAP and ProTerra: multi-stakeholder

8. Our Vision To work in collaboration with farmers, experts, policymakers and other stakeholders to answer the questions –How to reduce agricultural diffuse pollution? –What other benefits does a healthy soil provide? To demonstrate that these can be achieved in a practical and economically viable way To disseminate the outcomes to all stakeholders Create interest in soil and understanding of the link between soil and water

9. Our Vision Adapt the principles of conservation agriculture to provide in-field soil and water management solutions that are site-specific Compare outcomes – agronomic, economic, ecological - with local conventional agriculture Put soil management in the context of the entire farming system and off-site effects

10. SOWAP and ProTerra: Work and information flow Media (Press, Television, Radio) Workshops Conferences Open days EU Technical Guide CDs Website Farmers and Community WOCAT EU Guidelines SOWAP Database Social Impact EnvironmentEconomyAgronomy Regulators Agriculture Ministries Environment Agencies NGOsEU SOWAP Primary Stakeholders Field teams, i.e. data generation and analysis Dissemination Pan-European Stakeholders

11. A SOWAP demonstration site

12. SOWAP + ProTerra: early results In Belgium in high risk silty soils using Conservation Tillage we have observed an average 60% reduction in sediment erosion and 40% reduction in water run-off when results are compared to the conventional plough approach In olives and vines in the ProTerra project we have huge reductions in sediment erosion for example in a large single rainfall event in France sediment erosion rates were reduced from 70 t/ha to 1.5 t/ha when a managed cover crop was employed In the SOWAP project early information suggests enhanced biodiversity (avian, terrestrial and aquatic) when catchment farming uses Conservation Tillage

13. Soil erosion in a Belgian farmers field Sugar beet washed away from a plot which used conventional ploughing practices Muddy water from an arable field (tilled) mixing with clear water from pasture (not tilled) Soil erosion in Somerset UK

14. Gully formed at Gigondas, France Olives in Spain Soil lost from around 50 year old tree Soil ripping, France Soil erosion and ponding, France

16. SOWAP + ProTerra: European impact? We have worked over a number of years to develop solutions to the questions We work across Europe, encompassing a wide range of expertise We want to contribute at the European level by bringing our experience and knowledge together in a single place The CAMEO project was born To ensure its accuracy and relevance, we need external expert reviewers

17. What is CAMEO? (and what is it not) Conservation Agriculture Manual * for EurOpe A guide to soil and water conservation in European agriculture Contributors from SOWAP, ProTerra and other projects The target audience is policy makers and advisors –It is not for farmers An easy-to-read guide that ensures the content is readily accessible * It is a set of guidelines rather than a manual, but CAGEO doesnt really work!

18. What's in CAMEO? Overview of Soil and Water conservation practices Soil and water issues in Europe Policy framework: Soil Thematic Strategy, Water Framework Directive, CAP Reform Crop guidelines: –Arable –Perennial (trees, nuts and vines) –Horticulture –Grassland Conclusions

19. Progress and whats missing Much of the ground work is complete –Overview of soil and water conservation –Arable and perennial crop guidelines –First draft of some of the issues and policy initiatives Whats missing –A foreword –An independent review of the technical aspects of the book

20. So why am I here? The ESBN as I understand it –Collects, harmonises, organises and distributes soil information for Europe –However this has been expanded recently to include Soil information in Europe, to address a number of environmental problems and questions e.g. –Degradation of soil structure –Risk of erosion (by water and wind) –Supply of water at catchment level –Assessing the suitability (and sustainability) for traditional and alternative crops –Estimation of soil stability –Leaching of agrochemicals Most of which are central to the work of SOWAP, ProTerra and CAMEO

21. So what is the proposal? We would like to invite ESBN to become a full member of the CAMEO project – which would also link them to both SOWAP and ProTerra We would value contributions from ESBN to CAMEO, especially in the area of soil protection We would also invite ESBN members to technically review CAMEO We would like ESBN to be a partner in the publication of CAMEO