Biodiversity

Latest in Biodiversity Policy & Instruments

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  Natura 2000 and Jobs – Scoping the Evidence

  The European Natura 2000 network provides job opportunities in sectors ranging from conservation and restoration, agriculture, forestry, fisheries to tourism, recreation, and health.

• 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.

• 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.

• Result-based agri-environment measures: market-based instruments, incentives or rewards?

  Result-based schemes are innovative agri-environment measures, which remunerate farmers only if they can demonstrate to have achieved the desired environmental goal. This is different from ...

• 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.

• Guidelines for biodiversity proofing the EU budget

  This report provides a practical framework to ensure that spending under the EU budget has no negative impacts on biodiversity, and that spending under the EU budget is overall supportive to achieving the biodiversity targets.

• 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.

• 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.

• Policy Options to Achieve No Net Loss of Biodiversity

  A new IEEP led study concludes that mandatory biodiversity offsetting is required to achieve no net loss of biodiversity in the EU, but its introduction could be counter-productive if it is not introduced cautiously and regulated strictly. The first priority should be to better implement existing nature conservation measures.

• Environmental policy and the UK’s review of the EU Balance of Competences

  The UK Government’s Balance of Competences review has now taken evidence on 25 subject areas, including the 6 with the most relevance for the Environment. We take stock of the IEEP’s contributions, and consider what a possible UK renegotiation might mean for the environment.

• Estimation of the financing needs to implement Target 2 of the Biodiversity Strategy

  IEEP assessed the financing needs to implement Target 2 of the Biodiversity Strategy (target to maintain ecosystem services and restore 15% of degraded ecosystems by 2020) with eftec. The report showed that a large increase in funding will be required if Target 2 is to be attained, but also that there are a range of potential funding sources that could be increasingly used.

• 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?