1. What is High Nature Value Farmland?? Gwyn Jones European Forum on Nature Conservation & Pastoralism

2. Outline of the talk u Development of the concept u Some examples u Links to and overlap with other concepts u What it might not be…. u Some dangers

4. 1980’s – farming destroys nature

5. Protect nature from people

6. And lessen the destruction by: u Stricter rules u Better technology u Agri-environment payments u Decoupling of subsidies from production

7. A different view….. A different view…..

8. The “grey area” is large!

9. The “grey area” is important!

11. “Low-intensity farming” u Low agro-chemical input u Low energy input u Lots of room for ecological processes u But.. Often high labour input u And.. Low intensity is relative to carrying capacity u So term “High Nature Value” now used

12. HNV farmland is a spectrum LOW intensity High % semi-natural vegetation - “Type 1” Small-scale mosaic - “Type 2”

13. Type 1 Semi-natural vegetation dominates

18. Type 2 Low-intensity mosaics

23. Definition drawn up for European Environment Agency “High Nature Value farmland consists of those areas in Europe where agriculture is a major (usually the dominant) land use and which support or are associated with either a high species and habitat diversity or the presence of species of European conservation concern or both”

24. Three key features of HNV farmland u ALWAYS low-intensity u ALWAYS a high proportion of semi- natural vegetation u OFTEN a mosaic of habitats (including non-semi-natural)

25. Is that the same as… u Organic farming? u Farming beautiful/historic landscapes? u Farming on designated/protected sites? u Protecting rare breeds? u Protecting crop genetic diversity? u Peasant farming? No, but….