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Latest in Biodiversity
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Towards sustainability: Future policies for European livestock
The CAP is failing to reward adequately those livestock farmers who produce public goods. Brexit and CAP reform are opportunities to do better.
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Fitness Check of the Birds and Habitats Directives
The Nature Directives (i.e. Birds Directive and Habitats Directive) are the key instruments of EU environmental policy; the Fitness Check support study, carried out by Milieu, IEEP and ICF for the European Commission DG-ENV, examined their effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, EU-added value and their coherence with the wider acquis.
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Are Ecological Focus Areas delivering for biodiversity?
Ecological Focus Areas are intended to safeguard and improve biodiversity on arable farms in the EU. What evidence is there that they are actually delivering biodiversity on farmland?
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Ecological Focus Areas – what are their impacts on biodiversity?
Ecological Focus Areas are intended to safeguard and improve biodiversity on arable farms in the EU. This IEEP study for EEB and BirdLife examined the evidence for potential biodiversity impacts on farmland, taking into account how the areas are being managed.
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Improving environmental financing via result-based agri-environment measures
A new article by IEEP explores the use of result-based agri-environment measures in the region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The study shows that result-based schemes can increase the environmental effectiveness and conditionality of the EU Common Agricultural Policy.
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CAP greening: what are its environmental prospects?
A significant injection of money was agreed for ‘green’ farming practices under the recent CAP reform. This report examines the environmental impact these measures are likely to have on the ground and concludes that Member States’ implementation choices appear to have much diminished the chances of the greening measures delivering significant additional environmental benefits.
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Tracking biodiversity expenditure in the EU budget
The European Commission is in the process of developing a methodology to track biodiversity related expenditure in the EU budget. This effort is similar to the parallel process for tracking ...
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The Manual: Front pages
This is a chapter of IEEP’s Manual of European Environmental Policy. This chapter provides information on the authors, editors and editorial board involved in the Manual, as well as guidance on how to use it, and a brief outline of its content.
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The Manual: Chapter 13 - Sectoral policies
This is a chapter of IEEP’s Manual of European Environmental Policy. This chapter sets out the development of some of the most important links between EU environmental policy and other policy areas, such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, transport, trade, and so on.
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Whither the new Commission?
IEEP’s David Baldock gives his take on the new Commission in the latest edition of our newsletter. Read about how IEEP is raising ambition for the next EU climate and energy package, plus: priorities and policy options for a circular economy, payments for farmland biodiversity achievements, biodiversity proofing EU spending, and more.
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Guidance handbook for financing Natura 2000
An updated ‘Financing Natura 2000 Guidance Handbook’ aims to inform national stakeholders about opportunities for financing the management of Natura 2000 sites through various EU funds during the 2014-2020 period.
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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.
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New report: High Nature Value Farming in the EU
Member States need to make the most of the opportunities under the new Common Agricultural Policy if the declines in HNV farming, critical for meeting our 2020 biodiversity targets, are to be halted.
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Land as an Environmental Resource
How can we meet the different and often conflicting demands we make on our limited supply of rural land in Europe? A more strategic approach to the way in which land is used is needed than has been the case in the past. This report for DG Environment looks at the data, the challenges and the policy options for Europe.
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European Parliament report on sustainable competitiveness and innovation
The CAP could, and should, be primarily to assist EU agriculture to become more internationally competitive and sustainable and to achieve this by innovation. It already has many instruments to do this, and the reforms could further assist. However the resources deployed could be far better used.
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Addressing the EU’s biodiversity goals through the CAP
What is the relationship between the management of agricultural land and biodiversity? To what extent are the EU’s biodiversity goals addressed through the CAP?
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Delivering Environmental Benefits through Ecological Focus Areas
IEEP workshop on 6 March brought together a range of stakeholders to discuss possible environmental benefits through Ecological Focus Areas.
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2014-2020 EU Multi-annual Financial Framework: Opportunities and Challenges for Climate Change and the Environment
This presentation analyses the Commission proposals on the 2014-2020 Multi-annual Financial Framework unveiled on 29 June 2011. More specifically, it identifies opportunities and challenges for the financing of climate change and the environment in the future EU budget.
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EU Natural Resources policy: Signposts on the roadmap to sustainability
The EU is committed to building improved resource efficiency into its economic strategy, starting with a “roadmap” this year. A new paper from the Institute sets out the challenges, reviews the mixed results of previous EU policy in this area and suggests a number of ways forward. Both a broad vision and an array of practical policy initiatives are required.
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New Report - Funding for Farmland Biodiversity in the EU: Gaining Evidence for the EU Budget Review
This report, written for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), aims to initiate a transparent debate on the purpose, intensity and spatial distribution of expenditure on the EU's Common ...
Highlights
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Ecological Focus Areas – what are their impacts on biodiversity?
Ecological Focus Areas are intended to safeguard and improve biodiversity on arable farms in the EU. This IEEP study for EEB and BirdLife examined the evidence for potential biodiversity impacts on farmland, taking into account how the areas are being managed.
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CAP greening: what are its environmental prospects?
A significant injection of money was agreed for ‘green’ farming practices under the recent CAP reform. This report examines the environmental impact these measures are likely to have on the ground and concludes that Member States’ implementation choices appear to have much diminished the chances of the greening measures delivering significant additional environmental benefits.