Agriculture & Land Management

Our Work

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) continues to be a major driver of land use and management decisions. The integration of environmental objectives and measures into the CAP has been a long and incremental process. IEEP has been closely involved in seeking to improve the environmental focus of the CAP over successive reforms since the 1980s. We provide informed analysis and innovative thinking to stimulate debates, building on our in-depth understanding of this policy area.

Our work seeks to provide the evidence base for refocussing the CAP towards environmental objectives.  We seek to enhance the way in which the CAP supports the provision of environmental goods and services through influencing the management of agricultural and forest land. Our work in this area focuses on:

  • Innovative thinking to inform future policy design
  • Advice and guidance on mainstreaming environmental and climate issues within the CAP
  • Developing suitable monitoring and evaluation frameworks, including the design of indicators
  • Evaluating the environmental impacts of the CAP implementation choices made by Member States

We have pan-European experience and detailed knowledge of the intricacies of both Pillars of the CAP and the different funding opportunities available in both. In particular, our expertise covers cross-compliance, green direct payments, support within Areas of Natural Constraint, and rural development measures that can be used for environmental purposes, especially the agri-environment-climate measure. IEEP played an important role in providing evidence to inform the discussions on reforming the CAP post 2014. We have contributed to the provision of guidance on mainstreaming climate and biodiversity priorities within the CAP and on tracking climate and biodiversity expenditure under both Pillar 1 and within rural development programmes.

More about our work in this area...

Latest in Future of the CAP

  • EU research project PEGASUS - new thinking on sustainable land management

    EU research project PEGASUS kicked off in London on 29-30 April. The three-year project, led by IEEP, is focused on transforming land management approaches in the EU to improve the delivery of public goods and ecosystem services from rural areas.

  • High Nature Value farming throughout EU-27 and its financial support under the CAP

    This study reviews Member States’ estimates of the extent of HNV farmland and use of RDP measures and the CMEF indicators, then identifies future priorities for CAP support for HNV farming and discusses the support opportunities under the reformed CAP. It offers detailed new evidence about the combined effect of Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 CAP payments on the economic and environmental viability of a typical HNV farming system in three Member States.

  • A greener CAP: still within reach?

    The greening of the CAP hangs in the balance in the final negotiations; a synthesis of key issues and requirements.

  • EP vote must not undermine a greener CAP

    A decade’s progress in improving the Common Agricultural Policy’s environmental credentials risks being lost if the EP vote to water down the Commission’s ambitious proposals to green the CAP.

  • Designing RDPs fit for the environment

    Substantial changes to rural development regulation have been proposed which provide significant opportunities for Member States to deliver more for the environment. This report highlights some of these opportunities and sets out a series of principles and environmental priorities to help guide Member States in designing their future rural development programmes.

  • Delivering environmental benefits through entry-level agri-environment schemes in the EU

    A new study of the 2007-13 agri-environment schemes across the whole of EU-27 provides the first typology of ‘entry-level’ agri-environment management and environmental objectives, plus a detailed insight into the design of entry-level agri-environment schemes and calculation of payment rates in seven Member States.

  • Redesigning the CAP to deliver public goods

    As a contribution to the CAP reform debate, this report considers options for redesigning the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to maximise the delivery of public goods, particularly in relation to the environment and rural vitality.

  • Developing a Territorial Approach for the CAP

    A timely discussion paper explaining how a territorial approach can be developed within rural development policy and other aspects of the CAP.

  • Costs of delivering environmental benefits through agriculture and forestry management

    For the first time, this report provides an estimate of the scale of funding needed to achieve environmental outcomes through agricultural and forestry management in the EU to 2020.

  • Public Goods and Public Intervention in Agriculture

    What is the justification for spending a substantial sum on supporting agriculture in Europe? Is the principle public money for public goods? If so, what are the public goods, how ...

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