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

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)

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

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

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)

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

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

Riparian buffer strips – one concrete example

buffer strips – potential for synergies in action

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.

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