1. agriculture and environment measures – working towards sustainable agriculture
Paul Speight
European Commission
DG Environment
Unit Agriculture & Soil

2. Env law pushing towards sust agriculture
Pesticide Framework Directive
Nitrates Directive
Water Framework Directive
Natura 2000
What is in common?
Flexible but clear approach
Prevention better than cure...
Allow room for more ambition
MS support built in (action plans and so on)

3. Pesticide FD as an example
Integrated pest management (obligatory by 2014)
Focussed on preventing damage before it occurs
Room for more ambition - crop specific IPM for example
Support from MS built in –national action plans

4. Integrated Pest Management
Promotion of low pesticide-input pest management Establishment or support of necessary conditions for the implementation of IPM:
Tools for pest monitoring
Tools for decision-making and advisory services
General principles of IPM (see Annex III) - Guidelines coming – three pillar structure
Prevention – crop rotation etc
Action only when needed and at the right time – monitoring etc
Right type of action – advice on PPP etc

5. Rural development + agri-env measures in particular, supports env law
« LEADER » Axis (>5%)
Axis 1
Competitive-ness
(> 10%)
Axis 2
Environment + Land Management
(> 25%)
Axis 3
Economic Diversification + Quality of Life
(> 10%)
Single set of programming, financing, monitoring, auditing rules
Single Rural Development Fund (EARFD)

6. RD measures of relevance for env
Agri-environment
Forest-env.
payments
Training
Agro-forestry
Farm Advisory
System
Env
Afforestation
Meeting Standards
Farm
modernisation
LFA
Payments linked to
Directive 2000/60 &
NATURA 2000
Develop. of agric.&
forest infrastructure
Natural disaster&
prevention actions

7. Agri-environment
Main objectives: improvements and maintenance of the environment
The only compulsory RD measure
Commitments going beyond the AE baseline,
AE Baseline = cross compliance + minimum requirements for fertiliser and PPP use + other relevant mandatory national requirements

8. Riparian buffer strips – one concrete example

9. buffer strips – potential for synergies in action

10. What instruments could be used to do this?
Either legal provisions
e.g. through Pesticide FD implementation
Or MS could use incentive payments (agri-environment or related state aids).
e.g. MS/regions could introduce an agri-environmental measure to pay farmers not to farm their GAEC buffer strips at all, to protect water; and why not add an extra payment to plant the strips with wildlife enhancing plants, to protect biodiversity? Great opportunity to do this with modulation money from CAP Health Check.
A good solution would be to use both compulsory and voluntary approaches in combination.

11. Next Steps?
Commissioner Potočnik set out some views in his speech last week (available on RAPID)
Clear that the future of the CAP extremely important for the European environment