Constraints and opportunities for mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystem services in the EU's Common Agricultural Policy

Insights from the IPBES assessment for Europe and Central Asia

authored by

Riccardo Simoncini, I. Ring, Camilla Sandström, Christian Albert, Ulan Kasymov, Raphael Arlettaz

Abstract

The European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), being one of the strongest drivers of agricultural land-use practices, has a substantial impact on biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Member States. The initial focus of the CAP to increase and intensify agricultural production affected water and land qualities and contributed to the degradation of traditional agricultural landscapes, cultural identities, and erosion of typical farmland biodiversity. Recent CAP reforms have begun to consider biodiversity and ecosystem services, but still fall short of a thorough mainstreaming approach. The objectives of this paper are to point out main findings regarding (i) key shortcomings of the current CAP, and (ii) major opportunities to enhance the mainstreaming of biodiversity and ecosystem services within the CAP. The paper is based on insights generated in the sub-global assessment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) for Europe and Central Asia¹. Our results illustrate the evolution of agricultural policy objectives and instruments applied in the CAP, and their effects on selected ecosystem services and biodiversity. We shed light on key shortcomings of existing policy and provide recommendations for further CAP reforms to achieve more effective biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of ecosystem services.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Environmental Planning

External Organisation(s)

International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Technische Universität Dresden
Umea University
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
University of Bern
Swiss Ornithological Institute

Type

Article

Journal

Land Use Policy

Volume

88

ISSN

0264-8377

Publication date

11.2019

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Forestry, Geography, Planning and Development, Nature and Landscape Conservation, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 2 - Zero Hunger, SDG 15 - Life on Land

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104099 (Access: Closed)